Global Courant
WASHINGTON –
Thousands of Reddit discussion forums have gone dark this week to protest a new policy that charges some third-party apps to access data on the site, sparking concerns about content moderation and accessibility.
“Reddit is killing third-party applications (and itself),” multiple subreddits wrote in posts on the platform’s homepage this week.
The new fees are part of broader changes to Reddit’s API, or application programming interface, that the company recently announced.
Organizers of the blackout, which began Monday, say Reddit’s changes threaten to end significant ways to historically modify the platform — which relies heavily on the work of volunteer moderators. Subreddit “mods” often use tools outside of the official app to keep their forums free of things like spam and hateful content, and to improve accessibility.
According to a boycott tracker, nearly 9,000 subreddits went down this week and more than 4,000 remained down Friday, including communities with tens of millions of subscribers like r/music and r/videos. Some returned to their public settings after 48 hours, others say they will remain private indefinitely, until Reddit meets their demands.
But Reddit, a subsidiary of New York-based Advance Publications, isn’t changing course. CEO Steve Huffman says it’s too expensive to support third-party developers who make heavy use of their data. The company also notes that the new rates will only apply to eligible apps that require high usage limits, and that the majority of API users won’t have to pay for access.
Here’s what you need to know.
WHAT IS API? AND HOW IS REDDIT CHANGING ACCESS TO THIRD PARTY APPS?
Basically, an API allows computer programs to communicate with each other. Third parties have used Reddit’s free API access in the past to, for example, request data and build apps that work with the platform.
But Reddit announced it would be changing its API access policies earlier this year. Starting July 1, Reddit plans to charge third-party apps that require higher usage limits.
“Running a product like Reddit is expensive,” Huffman told The Associated Press, pointing to the millions of dollars Reddit spends supporting common third-party apps. “I’d like to be a self-sufficient company – it means we’re defensible… and we can sustain it in the future. So that’s what we’re working towards.”
Not all third-party apps are charged, as policies are based on usage levels, and some non-commercial, accessibility-focused apps may also continue with free access, the company said. Reddit also noted that API access will remain free for moderator tools and bots.
WHY ARE SUBREDDITS PROTESTING THIS CHANGE?
Reddit’s API changes have sparked outrage — as many Redditors say they’re concerned about losing long-used third-party resources. Popular third-party apps, including Apollo and Reddit Is Fun, have already announced plans to shut down at the end of the month due to the cost of the API changes. Apollo developer Christian Selig estimates the total cost would be about $20 million per year.
Reddit’s backbone of volunteer moderators who rely on these and similar apps are likely to bear the brunt of the fallout, experts note.
“While Reddit has promised that moderation tools will not be affected by API changes, many moderators rely on third-party apps and access to data archives to do their job effectively,” Sarah Gilbert, Cornell University postdoctoral fellow and Citizens and Technology Lab research manager , said in a statement — later noting the risks of moderator burnout and essential retention.
Gilbert added that API access helps moderators keep communities safe and “respond more quickly to spam, bigotry and harassment.” Third-party apps are also important for screen readers, she said, because the official Reddit app isn’t accessible to people with visual impairments.
WHEN DOES THE REDDIT BLACKOUT END?
Some subreddits that participated in this week’s blackout returned to Reddit within 48 hours, but others say their protest isn’t over.
Numerous subreddits have indicated their intention to remain private until Reddit meets their demands — which includes reducing API costs for heavy use by third-party developers so that popular apps can stay alive.
But Huffman said he’s holding his ground. He also said the subreddits currently participating in the blackout “will not remain offline indefinitely” — even if that means finding new moderators.
The company’s response to the blackout has sparked further outrage among protest organizers.
“We continue to ask reddit to put these changes on hold and explore a real path forward that strikes a balance that is best for the widest variety of reddit users,” read a Thursday night post on a subreddit devoted to moderator coordination.
In addition to Reddit, Twitter ended free API access earlier this year, a move that also sparked outrage.
