Jump to content

2023 Reddit API controversy: Difference between revisions

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Next edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
←Created page with 'The '''June 2023 Reddit blackout''' is an ongoing protest involving subreddits on the news aggregation website Reddit. ==Background== {{Further|Reddit#2023 API changes}} Reddit is a news aggregation and discussion website. Posts are organized into "subreddits", individualized user-created boards moderated by users.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2016/11/30/reddit-will-limit-the-re...'
(No difference)

Revision as of 22:33, 17 June 2023

The June 2023 Reddit blackout is an ongoing protest involving subreddits on the news aggregation website Reddit.

Background

Further information: Reddit § 2023 API changes

Reddit is a news aggregation and discussion website. Posts are organized into "subreddits", individualized user-created boards moderated by users.[1] In 2008, Reddit introduced its application programming interface (API), granting developers access to the site's corpus of posts and comments. Developers have used Reddit's free API to develop moderation tools and third-party applications; the API has also been used to train large language models (LLMs), including ChatGPT and Google's chatbot Bard.[2]

On April 18, 2023, Reddit announced it would charge for its API service amid a potential initial public offering.[2] Speaking to The New York Times' Mike Isaac, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said, that Reddit's data is "really valuable" and Reddit does not need to "give all of that value to some of the largest companies in the world for free". In spite of those changes, Huffman said that the API would continue to be available for free for developers who create moderation tools or researchers who use Reddit's data for academic purposes.[3] Christian Selig, the developer of the third-party Reddit client Apollo, said that Reddit could charge him US$20 million a year to keep his app working.[4]

Initial protest

Steve Huffman, CEO of Reddit during the protest

In response to Reddit's API changes, multiple subreddits announced that they would be shutting down from June 12 to June 14.[5] On June 9, Huffman held a public forum with Reddit users and reaffirmed the forthcoming changes to Reddit's API;[6] the forum resulted in some subreddits, including r/polls, going private ahead of the June 12 protest.[7] Huffman's statements caused the moderators of r/iPhone and r/Music to go private indefinitely beginning on June 12.[8]

On June 12, over 7,000 subreddits went private, including Reddit's largest subreddit, r/funny. Other subreddits that chose to go private include r/aww, r/gaming, and r/science. Some subreddits, such as r/NintendoSwitch, r/Frugal, and r/StarWars, opted to restrict new posts. r/DankMemes allowed users to post, but users may have only posted memes relating to the API changes.[9] At approximately 10:58 a.m. Eastern Time, Reddit was affected by a "major outage". The outage was resolved hours later.[10] An estimated 8,500 subreddits had gone private or restricted by June 13.[11] Subreddits continued to protest through June 15, while subreddits like r/pics and r/art became restricted.[12]

Continued protests

During the initial protests, some subreddits considered staying private indefinitely, including r/aww. r/Music and r/videos have continued to stay private. r/nba tweeted that it would stay private "indefinitely"; the decision to go private coincided with the 2023 NBA Finals.[13]

Users of r/pics and r/gifs exclusively posted about comedian John Oliver upon reopening

On June 17, r/pics and r/gifs reopened with a poll on whether or not their respective subreddits should be used to exclusively post about comedian John Oliver.[14] Oliver tweeted his approval and provided pictures for users of r/pics to use.[15]

Reactions

Reddit

In an internal memo obtained by The Verge, Huffman told employees that the protest "would pass".[16]

Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian tweeted "Online community-building is more like IRL community-building than people realize," in an apparent reference to the backlash to Reddit's API changes.[17]

Analysis

Columnist Megan McArdle compared Reddit to the nonprofit organization Goodwill and said that the site's moderators have "essentially gone on strike".[18] The Verge reporter Jay Peters noted that the quality of Google Search results decreased, citing the lack of resources on The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom guides, among other grievances.[19]

References

  1. ^ Ohlheiser, Abby (November 30, 2016). "Reddit will limit the reach of a pro-Trump board and crack down on its 'most toxic users'". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Shakir, Umar (April 18, 2023). "Reddit's upcoming API changes will make AI companies pony up". The Verge. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  3. ^ Isaac, Mike (April 18, 2023). "Reddit Wants to Get Paid for Helping to Teach Big A.I. Systems". The New York Times. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  4. ^ Roth, Emma (May 31, 2023). "A developer says Reddit could charge him $20 million a year to keep his app working". The Verge. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  5. ^ Porter, Jon (June 5, 2023). "Major Reddit communities will go dark to protest threat to third-party apps". The Verge. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  6. ^ Peters, Jay (June 9, 2023). "Reddit won't budge on the API changes that are shutting down apps like Apollo". The Verge. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  7. ^ Peters, Jay (June 10, 2023). "Some subreddits are already going dark". The Verge. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  8. ^ Peters, Jay (June 10, 2023). "Thousands of subreddits pledge to go dark after the Reddit CEO's recent remarks". The Verge. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  9. ^ Peters, Jay; Porter, Jon (June 12, 2023). "More than 7,000 subreddits have gone dark to protest Reddit's API changes". The Verge. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  10. ^ Peters, Jay (June 12, 2023). "Reddit crashed because of the growing subreddit blackout". The Verge. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  11. ^ Morrison, Sara (June 14, 2023). "The ongoing Reddit Blackout, explained". Vox. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  12. ^ Porter, Jon (June 15, 2023). "Thousands of Reddit communities remain dark as protest continues". The Verge. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  13. ^ Peters, Jay (June 13, 2023). "Reddit communities with millions of followers plan to extend the blackout indefinitely". The Verge. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  14. ^ Peters, Jay (June 17, 2023). "Two of the biggest Reddit communities reopened in the funniest way possible". The Verge. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  15. ^ Davis, Wes (June 17, 2023). "John Oliver approves of all the John Oliver posts on Reddit". The Verge. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  16. ^ Soto, Mia; Peters, Jay (June 13, 2023). "Reddit CEO tells employees that subreddit blackout 'will pass'". The Verge. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  17. ^ Peters, Jay (June 10, 2023). "Alexis Ohanian: "Online community-building is more like IRL community-building than people realize. Thing is — most people don't wanna do the work."". The Verge. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  18. ^ McArdle, Megan (June 15, 2023). "Reddit followed Goodwill's playbook. Now Redditors are on strike". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  19. ^ Peters, Jay (June 13, 2023). "Google is getting a lot worse because of the Reddit blackouts". The Verge. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2023_Reddit_API_controversy&oldid=1160649124"