The film director Oliver Stone has warned that augmented reality game Pokémon Go could lead society toward totalitarianism.
Talking to Comic-Con in San Diego, California, to promote his new film about Edward Snowden , Stone said companies were carrying out "surveillance capitalism" by monitoring people's behavior, The Guardian reported.
Asked about the app, he said: "It's not funny. What's happening is a new level of invasion.
"The profits are enormous here for places like Google. They've invested a huge amount of money in data mining what you are buying, what you like, your behaviour.
"It's what some people call surveillance capitalism.
"You'll see a new form of, frankly, a robot society. It's what they call totalitarianism."
Pokémon Go has swept the world since its original U.S. release on July 7, and has been played everywhere from the Mosul frontline to the U.K. parliament.
But the level of access to a user's Google account the app enjoys has led some users to worry about what data it is gathering. Niantic, which makes the game, has reassured users it is not gathering any exceptional data.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Josh is a staff writer covering Europe, including politics, policy, immigration and more.
