The app Yik Yak, a social media messaging network that allows users to write anonymous posts, has a history of making news because of links to cyberbullying and spreading false rumors about bomb threats at schools. Recently, though, The New York Times has reported that the abuse of the app to bully and harass has not abated despite blocking features that were put in place. Yik Yak made it possible for schools and campuses to block its use on their WiFi networks, but students can still use their cell phones to access the app.
On college campuses, it has been reported the app is being used to harass not only fellow students, but faculty as well. However, colleges (and schools) are powerless to do much about it as the app’s privacy policy prevents schools from identifying users without a subpoena, court order or search warrant, or an emergency request from a law-enforcement official with a compelling claim of imminent harm. That kind of legal entanglement makes it hard to pursue those who seem almost frighteningly compelled to use the anonymity the app offers for hateful purposes, and seemingly without the threat of any consequences. Comments on the Times article about Yik Yak abuse point out that most of what is on Yik Yak is pretty mundane or harmless, and hateful comments typically get “voted down” by users. While likely true, it is always easier to advocate having a “thick skin” when the abuse is not happening to you.