Thousands of Pokémon Go players have swarmed beaches on a small coastal town in the Netherlands, prompting authorities to reach out to the game’s creators out of concern for the protected areas. Niantic Labs officials never responded, though, so the Hague is taking them to court.
As wind and waves batter the beaches, the Hague is worried the unprecedented swarms of visitors to the Pokestops in Kijkduin are damaging the sand dunes. Niantic Labs will respond to those concerns at a court date, set for Oct. 11, the Guardian reports.
“We had no other choice” the authorities said in a statement.
The municipality added that the specific aim of taking Niantic to court is “to ban these small virtual animals” in protected areas, as well as from the streets between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
“Kijkduin will remain an attractive place for Pokémon hunters, but there will be less trouble for the residents and the damage to protected areas will be limited,” said the Hague in the statement.
- What We Know So Far About the Deadly Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria
- Beyoncé's Album of the Year Snub Fits Into the Grammys' Long History of Overlooking Black Women
- How the U.S. Shot Down the Alleged Chinese Spy Balloon
- Effective Altruism Has a Toxic Culture of Sexual Harassment and Abuse, Women Say
- Inside Bolsonaro's Surreal New Life as a Florida Man—and MAGA Darling
- 'Return to Office' Plans Spell Trouble for Working Moms
- 8 Ways to Read More Books—and Why You Should
- Why Aren't Movies Sexy Anymore?
- How Logan Paul's Crypto Empire Fell Apart
