Yik Yak, After Complaints From Schools, Suspends Its Service In Chicago 167
The Chicago Tribune reports that Yik Yak, a mobile app that can (among other things) be used for anonymous communications, has drawn complaints from several local schools, who are unhappy that students can use it to bully or pester others.
"'The problem, as you might imagine, is that the anonymity is empowering certain individuals to post comments about others that are hurtful, harassing and sometimes quite disturbing,' Joseph Ruggiero, head of the Upper School at Francis W. Parker School in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, wrote in an email to parents last week. ... In light of the controversy, Yik Yak's co-founder said the company was disabling the app in the Chicago area and will attempt to specifically prevent it from being used on high school or middle school grounds."
Goodbye Anonymous Cowards (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Goodbye Anonymous Cowards (Score:5, Interesting)
The current decline in anonyminity isn't driven by government. It's driven by corporate interests, for the sake of more efficient marketing and advertising.
Government and business interests can both oppress people, but in different ways and for different reasons. Sometimes they collude, and then we are screwed.