In a significant show of dissent, numerous popular Reddit communities, covering a wide array of subjects from technology and gaming to music, locked their pages on Monday in response to the platform’s new policy to monetize access to its data.
Beginning next month, third-party developers seeking to utilize Reddit’s extensive data resources will face fees. This shift has the potential to impact a diverse range of developers, from well-funded entities like OpenAI to smaller, independent developers.
The Apollo app, favored by many Reddit users for its alternative interface, announced that the proposed fees would render it unfeasible to continue its services.
Here are essential details regarding the protest:
What sparked the blackout?
The protest has been brewing for several weeks following Reddit’s April announcement to start charging for access to its application programming interface (API), a set of tools that enables communication between data providers and end users.
As of July 1, Reddit will implement fees for higher usage limits, charging $0.24 (approximately Rs. 20) for every 1,000 API calls, and less than $1 (roughly Rs. 82) per user per month.
According to Apollo, these charges could total more than $20 million (approximately Rs. 160 crore) annually based on their current usage.
What is the reasoning behind Reddit’s decision?
A major factor driving this change is the rise of generative AI technologies.
Reddit contains vast amounts of data that are valuable for training AI tools, such as the widely discussed ChatGPT from OpenAI. Although some of this information can be collected in an unstructured way, Reddit’s API simplifies how companies can gather and organize this data.
During an interview with the New York Times in April, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman emphasized the value of Reddit’s data and expressed a desire to avoid giving significant resources away for free to large corporations.
Which users are affected and when will the blackout conclude?
Thousands of subreddits, the dedicated forums on the platform, are participating in the protest, with many moderators organizing a 48-hour blackout during which these communities will go private, resulting in millions of users losing access.
High-traffic subreddits like r/Music, r/gaming, r/science, and r/todayilearned, each boasting over 30 million subscribers, have joined the protest, with some, like r/Music, indicating plans for an indefinite hiatus.
Unlike many social media platforms, Reddit relies significantly on community moderators, known as “mods,” who voluntarily monitor their subreddits to filter out inappropriate or illegal content.
What is the response from third-party app developers?
Christian Selig, the developer behind the Apollo app, recently tweeted that the service would cease operations by June 30 due to the unsustainable fees.
Additionally, Huffman mentioned that other third-party applications, including Reddit is Fun and Sync, have also determined that the new pricing structure is unviable for their businesses and will shut down before the fees take effect.
What is Reddit’s stance on the matter?
Huffman acknowledged the discontent expressed by many subreddit moderators on Friday, but he reiterated that the company could no longer support commercial entities that require extensive data usage, emphasizing the need for Reddit to operate as a self-sustaining business.
What steps are other social media platforms taking?
Earlier this year, Twitter, now overseen by Elon Musk, imposed restrictions on all third-party clients and adjusted its rules regarding developer access to APIs.
The revised guidelines state that developers are prohibited from utilizing the Twitter API to create services or products that replicate or serve as alternatives to the official Twitter application.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
