Lawmaker proposes cracking down on Pokemon Go websites

In this Aug. 10, 2016 photo, signs are posted asking Pokemon Go players to stay on the path instead of walking through the grass to protect wildlife at the Loyola Dunes area on Chicago's lakeshore. The protected dunes have become a popular hot-spot for Pokemon Go players. The heavy foot-traffic has raised concerns about environmental damage and inspired an Illinois state lawmaker to propose legislation to require removal of certain places from the game. The bill is one of the first of its kind in the US.
In this Aug. 10, 2016 photo, signs are posted asking Pokemon Go players to stay on the path instead of walking through the grass to protect wildlife at the Loyola Dunes area on Chicago's lakeshore. The protected dunes have become a popular hot-spot for Pokemon Go players. The heavy foot-traffic has raised concerns about environmental damage and inspired an Illinois state lawmaker to propose legislation to require removal of certain places from the game. The bill is one of the first of its kind in the US.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill.-Invasive weeds have long threatened to erode dunes on a portion of the Chicago lakefront, but the area recently had to contend with a virtual invasion: "Pokémon Go" characters.

The game sends players into the real world in search of digital monsters that appear on smartphone screens to be caught, and hundreds of people have been flocking to the Loyola Dunes restoration area too find the hard-to-get "Lapras." But in their quest to find the rare creature, players have been walking over native grassland critical to protecting the dunes from erosion.

The heavy foot-traffic became so worrisome to environmentalists that proposed legislation seeks to get certain sites removed from the game so players are only disturbing the virtual Pokémon characters and not ecologically sensitive areas in their quest to catch them.

"It should not be trampled and stampeded in that way," said state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, a Chicago Democrat who is sponsoring the bill.

Cassidy's bill would require app developers to remove locations in augmented reality games within two days of receiving a request to do so or face a daily fine of $100.

"We just want to make sure that the imaginary animals can co-exist with the real wildlife in our parks and natural areas," said Jack Darin, director of the Sierra Club's Illinois chapter.

The proposal is one of the first of its kind in the country, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In New York, lawmakers are considering legislation to restrict sex offenders' use of augmented reality games.

Chicago's case is not the first time in-game locations, known as "Pokéstops," have disrupted the real world. Pokéstops at the atomic bomb memorial park in Hiroshima, Japan, and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington are among the sites that have been removed from the game after complaints.

Niantec, the San Francisco-based developer behind the game, has removed the PokéStop that was frustrating conservationists in Chicago, but Cassidy said it took several requests and the introduction of her bill last week.

"We regret the delay in removing the site which was due to the unusually high usage of the game and subsequent requests for both removal and addition of game locations," Niantic founder and CEO John Hanke said in a statement. "We want to emphasize that we are supporters of public space and believe that our cities and communities are healthier when citizens make use of public space, bringing us into contact with the outdoors and with one another. Yes, even when that use is motivated by capturing Pokémon."

Upcoming Events