This New York college wants to know the identities of students that posted offensive and threatening language on Yik Yak.

N.Y. college seeks identities of Yik Yak users

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The University of Rochester is demanding a social media site turn over the names, e-mail addresses and other information that would help the college identify its students who might have posted racially offensive and threatening language.

University senior counsel Richard S. Crummins sent a letter Thursday to Yik Yak, a popular social networking app, making the demand for information, along with screenshots of the posts the university wants to have identified.

Yik Yak allows users to post anonymously. The postings are seen within a 1.5- to 10-mile radius of the user.

Although university officials say the offensive and threatening statements on this social media app are no longer posted, the controversy raises questions about First Amendment issues and how social media is regulated.

“Recently, students at the university became aware of the attached posts, which, it cannot be disputed, violated Yik Yak’s terms of service, in that they contained racially offensive language, were directly threatening toward an individual student, and incited illegal activity (including advocating the burning of a structure in front of a university building),” wrote Crummins in his letter to Yik Yak.