As many students around Australia return from holiday, the risks posed by the phenomenally popular phone application Pokémon Go are brought into the school setting. Released early in July, the App has become the most used app ahead of Facebook and Twitter. It has also demonstrated a capacity to cause accidents and injury, in addition to being considered addictive to users.
Each school will have a different response to Pokémon Go and must decide whether to restrict its use in response to the clear hazards caused by both employee and student use. However, simply banning its use may lead to surreptitious play and create hostility amongst employees and students without effectively dealing with the risks posed. This article explains the legal and practical implications of the Pokémon Go game for schools, providing suggestions for managing its impacts and benefits.
Pokémon Go is a mobile game marketed as a blend of augmented reality and real world interaction, released as an ‘App’ for both Apple iPhones and Android products. The game instructs its players to venture into the world to search for Pokémon – virtual creatures which essentially act as collector’s items – and catch them using their phone’s camera.
Real landmarks have been identified as two kinds of places of interest within the game. PokéStops are locations which can be interacted with to receive free benefits within the game in the form of inventory items. Gyms provide the opportunity for players to challenge each other in contests of strength. These landmarks have included police stations, cemeteries, and even four within the vicinity of Parliament House.
While the technological functions of the App seem unique and revolutionary, Scotch College headmaster Alec O’Connell has stated that schools have faced phenomenons like Pokémon Go before. Regardless of the challenge, a school’s job remains to “continue educating students on the appropriate usage and also to find balance.”
To find this balance, schools need to become aware of the legal and practical impacts which the App poses.
Within the school setting, use of Pokémon Go may cause employees and students to become distracted from performing work tasks, leading them to become unproductive and disengaged.
By contributing to a phenomenon known as ‘distracted walking’, Pokémon Go may also lead to an increase in the incidence of workplace injury. ‘Distracted walking’ is caused when a person’s attention is diverted away from their immediate surroundings while walking, causing them to become unaware of any potential hazards in the vicinity. Research has suggested that 43 per cent of people have walked into something while looking at their phone, a habit which the App simply reinforces.
While individuals are warned to “remember to be alert at all times” and “stay aware of your surroundings” each time they use the App, the tendency to stare intently at the screen to locate and catch Pokémon means that many do not follow this recommendation. There have already been reports of people walking into trees, car accidents, and in one incident in the United States two players sustained moderate injury after walking off a cliff while playing the App. As in any workplace injury, the school may be liable for injuries sustained by its employees within the workplace.
To mitigate these problems, schools should have a mobile device policy which defines acceptable personal use on company time, and educate both employees and students about the risks of distracted walking. In some instances, proactive steps such as roping off physical dangers may need to be taken to avoid injuries to students.
Schools may also focus on the performance and engagement of both employees and students, rather than attempting to monitor their entire use of the App. When phone usage becomes unreasonable in this context, there will be a solid procedural foundation upon which to address the problem.
The risks posed by Pokémon Go are not limited to the workplace. With individuals being encouraged to discover and catch rare Pokémon in new and exotic locations, the ‘distracted walking’ phenomenon may cause staff and students to have incidents with members of the general public.
While the school is not responsible for any injury sustained by a student while outside the scope of their duty of care, it can potentially damage the school’s reputation if employees or students identified as members of the school become a public nuisance or commit trespass. This places a clear responsibility on schools to provide briefings on public use of the App.
Pokémon within the App are randomly placed by the developer in locations in the real world. While these will often be in large public areas like parks, in some instances they may fall into or within the vicinity of private property. This function can also be exploited, with reports of some users being assaulted and robbed after being ‘lured’ to particular locations by opportunistic criminals.
There is nothing to stop persons, unless there is malicious intent, from taking photos of private property from the footpath. However, it is unlawful to enter private property without consent or waiver and congregating outside in a large group may be considered a public nuisance. Professor Ross Grantham has stated that even if the game places virtual creatures within private property or fenced-off areas, this does not give individuals permission to trespass.
Trespass on school premises is also a possibility, with Queensland Police issuing a warning that trespassing onto school grounds to catch Pokémon could earn fines of up to $2200. Similar punishments could be faced around the country. Schools should ensure surveillance and monitoring procedures are in place regarding trespassers on school property. They should also advise students and employees to take care even when outside of school hours.
Pokémon Go has also raised privacy concerns around the world.
Threats have been made in Germany that a lawsuit will be made against the developer if it doesn’t correct 15 clauses which breach German consumer and privacy law. In Australia, the Privacy Commissioner released a statement warning people to read the Privacy Policy of the App before signing up. Enquiries were made with the Pokémon Company to ensure use of personal information was managed appropriately under the Australian Privacy Act.
As with most phone Apps, Pokémon Go receives basic personal details from users – such as their name and email address – simply through signing in or creating an account.
The App’s terms of service and privacy policy state it is a "location based game" which means it will "collect and store information about [a users] location" whenever they use the App.
Niantec, the developer of Pokémon Go, has stated that all shared data – including location, user settings and their operating system - will be used to “improve and personalise” their ‘Service’, which is repeatedly referred to throughout the policy and left broadly defined. The policy also states that third party providers may be able to access this information for the purposes of research and providing Niantec’s services.
While the Pokémon Company’s Privacy Policy says that they do not give personal information to third parties without prior consent, Niantec does not guarantee absolute security of information. By default, users give the consent to use their personal information simply by using the App. The Privacy Commissioner has warned users to remain aware of exactly what information the Application is collecting, in order to make informed decisions about whether to consent to use of their personal information.
If schools are to provide advice on use of the App to their students, they should be advised not to give out any personal information to people within the App beyond their in-game ‘nickname’. Parents can also request that Niantic does not share any of their child’s data by emailing them here. It is not clear however what impact this will have on use of the App.
Despite the risks to schools, employees and students, clear benefits have manifested from the use of Pokémon Go. These have been stated to include peer interaction, exercise and the potential for both employees and students to develop cognitive and digital skills.
The App has received praise from medical professionals for providing mental and physical health benefits. Players are encouraged to leave the house and move around, as opposed to remaining sedentary staring at a computer or TV screen. One function of the game requires players to walk distances of two, five or ten kilometres to incubate Pokémon Eggs they may discover in PokéSpots.
It has been suggested that the enthusiasm of an employee for outside-work events may improve their engagement and attentiveness with work-related activities. The same could equally be said for students. Schools consultant Skye Moroney has commented that schools could embrace use of the App by holding weekly competitions for the most powerful catch of the week or use the game in maths and science lessons.
There is a clear need to respond to the popularity and widespread use of Pokémon Go. However, there is nothing to suggest that schools need to create new policies and procedures specifically for the Pokémon Go App, as long as pre-existing policies are consistently applied in response to these risks. Any action taken by schools should balance the need to maintain an attentive learning environment and workplace productivity, against the social and physical benefits the App provides.