Iran Bans ‘Clash of Clans,’ Says It Promotes Tribal Warfare

Access to the hugely popular app Clash of Clans has been blocked in Iran after the Ministry of Justice said they fear it might promote tribal warfare in the country.

According to Engadget, the country’s Ministry of Justice recommended  blocking the access to the game for its negative influence to the youth which was claimed to promote tribal warfare. According to the Iranian government, the game poses “clear example of violence through education and the promotion of tribal war.”

The Internet and web activities have been censored in Iran for many years, and this isn’t the first major mobile app to be banned in the country. Pokémon GO was blocked earlier this year over similar security concerns.

It is not just Iran that is seeing the threat posed by the game’s use of the GPS as part of its gameplay, however, as countries like the North and South Korea also impose severe restrictions to the game.

If Iran does indeed follow through with banning the game, it might not be gone forever; Iranian citizens have a habit of getting around the country’s content filtering, especially using satellite TV-enabled tools to bypass censors.

Created by Finnish firm Supercell, Clash of Clans has become a massive hit all over the world. It involves players creating villages and then using troops to protect them or to attack other players’ settlements. Earlier this year, Supercell announced that 100 million people were playing its games every day.