Some apps from Reddit they are closing because the site has changed its API policies and many Reddit communities have become inaccessible for express their dissent. This situation took many Reddit users by surprise, but the Reddit CEO Steve Huffman he hasn’t changed his mind after the blackouts that blocked subreddits this week. According to Huffman, those third-party apps don’t bring much benefit to the platform. And therefore Reddit has no intention of changing course.
Reddit does not give in, the CEO confirms the change of policy after the blackouts
The protests on the platform have made thousands of groups private, and therefore inaccessible to non-members. In fact, they have blacked out the platform. Why? Reddit has decided to charge access to its API, which allows you to create applications and services based on the content and conversations hosted by the site. Some third-party apps, such as Apollohave announced the closure because cannot afford the costs requested by Reddit.
Reddit CEO Steve Huffman justified the policy change with the need to generate profits and value Reddit data, used by many companies to train artificial intelligences. Many users and moderators feel betrayed by this move, which undermines the collaborative and independent spirit of the platform. But even after the protest, that saw over 9,000 blacked out communities and subredditsthe CEO does not seem willing to go back.
The CEO doesn’t change his mind
In an interview with Jay Peters di The Vergethe CEO of Reddit Steve Huffman explains that the site’s APIs are not needed for applications, like Apollo for Reddit, which offer a new interface for Reddit. HUffman explains, “Most uses of the API – don’t [app di terze parti come Apollo per Reddit] – the remaining 98 percent, create tools, bots, improvements for Reddit. This is the purpose of the API”. Huffman goes on to say that: “It was never meant to support third-party apps” and adds that Reddit “tolerated that they existed” and that “it’s my fault because I’ve been talking about it for a long time.”
Huffman claims to have ignored so far that applications such as ref for Reddit, Sync or Apollo were associations “they were not non-profit associations”, real companies. And when Peters asks if he didn’t think that the improved interface and extra features of these apps weren’t creating value for users and therefore for Reddit, he replies “Not as much as they take”. Although he said some apps that help users with disabilities such as RedReader and Dystopia will have access without paying.
The CEO explains: “They have to pay for it. This is right. What our colleagues did was ban them completely. And we said no, you know what, we believe in free markets. You have to cover your costs.” Even though app developers like Apollo argue that, under the new policies, they would have to pay millions of dollars a month — too much for these economic realities.
And he explains that while Reddit is ready to discuss with the developers, the protests of these days have not changed their “business decision”.
The point on the protests
Reddit says it “respects the community’s right to protest” and doesn’t want to force communities back online, but at the same time says it’s not necessary. In fact, according to a briefing note released by the company on Thursday, more than 80 percent of the top 5,000 communities by daily active users are already operational. In the disclosure note, Reddit states that it has more than 100,000 “active communities”to register 57 million “unique visitors per day” and to have more than 50,000 active moderators per day.
Outcry from Reddit users erupted after the developer of Apollo for Reddit, Christian Selig, revealed that he should have pay $20 million a year under Reddit’s new terms. At the height of last week’s protests, more than 8,000 subreddits had gone black. Land protests were expected only from June 12 to 14, but many have extended their blackouts.
However, it seems that the protests have not worked: the CEO of Reddit will continue to implement these new policies. Whether Reddit users are willing to continue the blackouts — or whether they’ll find other ways to make their voices heard remains to be seen.