Fatal Error on plugin activation for last version 1.4.8

I’m getting the same exact error.

Yes me too!

How can I back to the previous version?

Please fix it asap, my categorie links are completely broken.

Many thanks

Same error here upon updating. using WP 3.5.1

Seems everyone facing same issue, don’t worry Joost is very good developer he’ll fix it soon …

Same problem!

Same issue, just updated. No failure message from WP just a PHP error when the window refreshed.

Same issue here.

Renamed /www/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-seo until a new version is available.

I’m going back to previous version.
Same issue.

The cause seems to be an old version of php (< 5.3), which is essentially deprecated.
You should verify with your hosting provider to update to supported version of php.

If, like me, you use HostGator, here’s how to change to a supported version:
https://support.hostgator.com/articles/hosting-guide/hardware-software/php-5-3

I have the same problem. I just moved a wordpress site to a server and am getting the Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_FUNCTION in /wp-content/plugins/wordpress-seo/wp-seo.php

Is there a quicker fix?

Thanks for the tip Alain
I am with bluehost and using php version 5.2.17

You can check your bluehost php version here and get instructions to upgrade which I will do shortly and hope it solves the problem.
https://my.bluehost.com/cgi/help/386

Is there any downside to updating my php version? Is it likely to cause anything else to break?

I am getting a big warning about changing the php version

If you are not familiar with these options, do NOT change them.
This can cause all PHP scripts on your site to stop functioning if misconfigured.

Dito same error, shared server running PHP 5.3.24 version, what version does SEO by yoast need???

@doctormicro: Hmm, strange, it should work with PHP >5.3. Have you verified that you are indeed using this exact version. There are often several versions installed on a server, you have to verify that WordPress is using the correct one.

I went in via FTP and renamed the wordpress-seo plugin and my site is now working but it’s a temporary fix until I know for certain that it is the PHP version breaking the plugin.

By the way, I’m running SEO by Yoast version 1.4.7 and have the same problem.