Moderator Rebellion Hits Reddit As Blackout Begins Over API Pricing
Thousands of subreddit forums are going private Monday as moderators protest Reddit's new pricing policy for third-party app developers for access to the site's data.
If you're trying to access the Apple-related subreddit /r/apple, well, it has gone dark. A message reads, "r/apple is a private community" and says:
"We stand in solidarity with numerous people who need access to the API including bot developers, people with accessibility needs (r/blind) and 3rd party app users (Apollo, Sync, etc.)"
R/apple is one of the many subreddits that have gone dark. Nearly "3,500 subreddits will be inaccessible as a result," BBC News reported.
This is insane#RedditBlackout pic.twitter.com/WLN68DxUTq
— no force majeure (@no_forcemajeure) June 12, 2023
The blackout by moderators comes after the 18-year-old social media and news aggregation website revealed new expensive API pricing changes. These new charges will put some third-party Reddit apps out of business.
Business Insider spoke with Reddit app Apollo, who said the new pricing would mean his company would incur a $20 million charge per year. He said Apollo would be shuttering operations later this month.
On Friday, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman addressed the API pricing changes and the "frustration" that erupted across the community by moderators. His comments failed to ease the community.
"I want to talk with you today about what's happening within the community and frustration stemming from changes we are making to access our API. I spoke to a number of moderators on Wednesday and yesterday afternoon and our product and community teams have had further conversations with mods as well," Huffman wrote.
Reddit has yet to reverse course on its plans, and the API changes will go into effect on July 1. These changes come as the company is trying to increase a more diversified source of revenue ahead of a future IPO.
Reddit appears to have followed Twitter, which recently announced that previously-free API access will now come at a cost to third parties. Reddit historically derived most of its revenue from its advertising base and has struggled to monetize users.
Reddit is committed to the new API pricing. And that might stoke even more discontent among moderators. The current blackout is expected to last for 48 hours.
