Several Reddit communities are going dark in protest of the platform’s controversial decision to charge developers of third-party apps, which many users rely on to browse the site. The uproar stems from upcoming changes to Reddit’s API, which allows other companies to utilize Reddit data in their own products and services.
Here’s the keypoints on the controversy:
- Reddit revealed plans to charge apps like RedReader for site access, limit third-party apps’ content access, and impose restrictive new terms on developers.
- The crux of the issue is that “API pricing is too high for apps to continue operation”.
- These changes will take effect on July 1, 2023, with Reddit seeking exorbitant fees from third-party app developers.
- As part of an ongoing effort to regulate sexually explicit content, Reddit will also restrict access to mature content via its Data API.
- On June 12th and 13th, nearly 3,500 subreddits will go dark during a protest, emphasizing “strength in numbers” as moderators from some of the largest communities make their subreddits private for 48 hours.
- Non-official app users, often considered “power-users,” contribute a significant amount of content that benefits Reddit as an organization.
- To bill users for their usage while protecting their API access keys, developers need to establish their own servers to proxy all requests.
- Reddit is also investing in its developer community and enhancing support for apps and bots through its Developer Platform, aimed at helping developers improve the core Reddit experience.