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One Per Cent
Technology
ONE PER CENT
Help, my yard’s a Pokéstop Pokémon Go‘s success raises tricky questions, says Aviva Rutkin
22 | NewScientist | 23 July 2016
as the Auschwitz-Birkenau and the author of Augmented Memorial and Museum, and the Reality Law, Privacy and Ethics. Holocaust Memorial Museum in “Digital objects aren’t really Washington DC. there,” he says. “You might see “We do not consider playing Pokémon on your little screen ‘Pokémon Go’ to be appropriate portrayed as if they’re in the decorum on the grounds of ANC. middle of a street or in the We ask all visitors to refrain from middle of a park, but all you’re such activity,” tweeted the seeing is data that’s stored in a Arlington National Cemetery, a server somewhere, displayed US military cemetery in Virginia. on your phone.” The game has brought to the Instead, displeased parties fore a number of once-speculative might find more success focusing questions about augmented “Past court cases have reality. Past court cases have debated the physical debated the physical boundaries boundaries of property – of property, from the air above to the dirt below – what about digital what about digital ones?” boundaries? You do not have a right to any on the impact the game has in the of the virtual space in and around physical world. Repeated visitors your home, says Brian Wassom, a can cause a nuisance, interfering commercial litigator in Michigan with the owner’s right to enjoy their property and perhaps giving them the grounds for a lawsuit. And trespassers are still liable to be arrested, even if they just clambered into your backyard to get a little closer to a rare snorlax. In addition, there’s a potential case for negligence if a company doesn’t act on a problem that their augmented reality game has created, says Emily McReynolds, programme director of the Tech Policy Lab at the University of Washington. Designers might take a hint from virtual message board Yik Yak. After numerous bullying incidents, it put up “geofences” to block access in and around schools. “I think in cases like this, lawsuits are very likely,” she says. “The question is whether or not they would be successful.” Niantic, the software company behind Pokémon Go, has already proven responsive to concerns, she adds, and it’s in the best interests of the firm to work out issues ahead of time rather than –A wild tram appeared!– see them go to court. n
Wireless wounds Now that cut on your arm has a voice. A new thread has been developed for stitching wounds that can relay data to doctors about the state of an injury. The thread can gather pressure, stress, strain and temperature information to create a picture of how a wound is healing. Its developers, at Tufts University in Boston, tested it on rats, beaming data wirelessly to a computer or phone.
20
The average number of messages sent before a phone number is exchanged between people on online dating apps
Safety overseas Microsoft does not have to hand over data held on servers in Ireland in response to search warrants from US authorities. The ruling, made at the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York, is a big moment for the application of privacy rights under the rules of the country where personal data resides, limiting the reach of government data collection.
c.lyttle/fuse/getty
Muhammed Enes Yildirim/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
GOTTA catch ‘em all – but not in my backyard. Since Pokémon Go’s release on 6 July, the augmented reality app has become a smash hit. Players walk around hunting for hidden monsters superimposed on the world around them, and visiting real-life locations tagged as stops or gyms in the game. So far, it has been downloaded an estimated 15 million times. But all this enthusiasm has led to more than a few uncomfortable interactions in the real world. A police station in Australia asked people to stop coming in to visit a Pokéstop – a place where free items can be found. Homeowners have had players loitering outside their property day and night. Others were aghast when Pokémon began showing up at sensitive sites such
ONE PER CENT
Help, my yard’s a Pokéstop Pokémon Go‘s success raises tricky questions, says Aviva Rutkin
22 | NewScientist | 23 July 2016
as the Auschwitz-Birkenau and the author of Augmented Memorial and Museum, and the Reality Law, Privacy and Ethics. Holocaust Memorial Museum in “Digital objects aren’t really Washington DC. there,” he says. “You might see “We do not consider playing Pokémon on your little screen ‘Pokémon Go’ to be appropriate portrayed as if they’re in the decorum on the grounds of ANC. middle of a street or in the We ask all visitors to refrain from middle of a park, but all you’re such activity,” tweeted the seeing is data that’s stored in a Arlington National Cemetery, a server somewhere, displayed US military cemetery in Virginia. on your phone.” The game has brought to the Instead, displeased parties fore a number of once-speculative might find more success focusing questions about augmented “Past court cases have reality. Past court cases have debated the physical debated the physical boundaries boundaries of property – of property, from the air above to the dirt below – what about digital what about digital ones?” boundaries? You do not have a right to any on the impact the game has in the of the virtual space in and around physical world. Repeated visitors your home, says Brian Wassom, a can cause a nuisance, interfering commercial litigator in Michigan with the owner’s right to enjoy their property and perhaps giving them the grounds for a lawsuit. And trespassers are still liable to be arrested, even if they just clambered into your backyard to get a little closer to a rare snorlax. In addition, there’s a potential case for negligence if a company doesn’t act on a problem that their augmented reality game has created, says Emily McReynolds, programme director of the Tech Policy Lab at the University of Washington. Designers might take a hint from virtual message board Yik Yak. After numerous bullying incidents, it put up “geofences” to block access in and around schools. “I think in cases like this, lawsuits are very likely,” she says. “The question is whether or not they would be successful.” Niantic, the software company behind Pokémon Go, has already proven responsive to concerns, she adds, and it’s in the best interests of the firm to work out issues ahead of time rather than –A wild tram appeared!– see them go to court. n
Wireless wounds Now that cut on your arm has a voice. A new thread has been developed for stitching wounds that can relay data to doctors about the state of an injury. The thread can gather pressure, stress, strain and temperature information to create a picture of how a wound is healing. Its developers, at Tufts University in Boston, tested it on rats, beaming data wirelessly to a computer or phone.
20
The average number of messages sent before a phone number is exchanged between people on online dating apps
Safety overseas Microsoft does not have to hand over data held on servers in Ireland in response to search warrants from US authorities. The ruling, made at the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York, is a big moment for the application of privacy rights under the rules of the country where personal data resides, limiting the reach of government data collection.
c.lyttle/fuse/getty
Muhammed Enes Yildirim/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
GOTTA catch ‘em all – but not in my backyard. Since Pokémon Go’s release on 6 July, the augmented reality app has become a smash hit. Players walk around hunting for hidden monsters superimposed on the world around them, and visiting real-life locations tagged as stops or gyms in the game. So far, it has been downloaded an estimated 15 million times. But all this enthusiasm has led to more than a few uncomfortable interactions in the real world. A police station in Australia asked people to stop coming in to visit a Pokéstop – a place where free items can be found. Homeowners have had players loitering outside their property day and night. Others were aghast when Pokémon began showing up at sensitive sites such