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Yakety yak

Don’t talk back”: An autopsy of anonymity gone awry

Bibliographic Data

ID13118992
AuthorsKathryn Montalbano (0000-0001-9795-0851, Appalachian State University, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume6
Issue1-2
Pages191-205
Publication date2021-12-28
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternet Histories (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2470-1475 • E-ISSN: 2470-1483
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/24701475.2021.2020470
OpenAlexW4200429254
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited27

This article compares the socio-legal factors and challenges contributing to the failure of the deceased anonymous, hyperlocal platform, Yik Yak, with a living anonymous, hyperlocal platform, Jodel. By analysing each platform’s Terms of Service (ToS) statements alongside their guidelines and values, the article traces how anonymous, hyperlocal applications both diverge from and mirror communication law in fashioning their approaches to content moderation and responses to the dark side of communication. The article concludes that in contrast with Yik Yak, which attempted to rely on its ToS and limited community monitoring system to curb cyberbullying and harassment, the case of Jodel—and by extension, the German approach to regulating hate speech and bullying—suggests that surviving hyperlocal, anonymous platforms of U.S. origin should not solely hide behind Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA). Instead, they should aim to combine (1) robust ToS statements with (2) specific community values or guidelines that are fortified by (3) a comprehensive monitoring system in order to curb abusive behaviour on their platforms

Anonymity · Business · Computer security · Harassment · Internet privacy · Service (business · YAK · Computer Science · Freedom of Expression and Defamation · Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection · Law, Rights, and Freedoms · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology

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Citations per year1
Citation span2025 - 2025 (1)
Highly citedNo

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