Thousands of popular subreddits joined the boycott of Reddit from June 12-14 in response to planned changes to Reddit’s API.
Reddit outlined its vision for the future of the Reddit API in April, which included implementing a premium pricing structure for access.
These changes could ruin third-party apps that users rely on for a valuable Reddit experience, such as the moderators use to protect members’ subreddits from harmful content and spam.
Sending a message to save third-party applications
In a publication from r/Save3rdPartyApps, the moderators listed their demands, alternative communities to join, a list of participating subreddits, and instructions on how to make your subreddit private.
Demands that Reddit had to consider regarding the API included the following:
It allows third-party apps to serve their ads and provides a revenue sharing model to make them sustainable. This includes lowering API prices and giving apps time to adjust. Improves the Reddit API by adding features such as image uploads, chat, notifications, and increasing speed limits. Communicate and consult better with disability communities. The changes negatively affect accessibility apps for blind users. Clarify how accessibility exemptions are granted. Compensate accessibility app developers who provide an alternative to the official Reddit Inaccessible app. Allow third-party apps to access NSFW content as long as they implement appropriate age moderation and verification systems. Reddit currently only allows this in its official apps.
According to publication of r/ModCoord, over 28,000 moderators from nearly 8,000 subreddits participate. Some communities, such as r/Science ir/todayilearned, have over 30 million members each.
Subreddits included r/bigSEO, displayed messages like the following to inform members of what was happening. John Mueller, a search analyst at Google, commented that he supported the protest and called Reddit’s pricing and communication about the API changes “disappointing.”
Screenshot from Reddit, June 2023
Subreddit moderators posted bulletins on their Reddit communities, websites, and other social platforms to declare their intention to support third-party applications.
Screenshot from Reddit/Internet Archives, June 2023
Screenshot from AskHistorians.com, June 2023
I moderate the /r/reactjs subreddit. I just posted an announcement that we’ll be shutting down June 12-14 to join the protest against Reddit’s API pricing changes and the killing of third-party apps:
— Mark Erikson (@acemarke) June 9, 2023
Some subreddits chose different ways to show support without being completely inaccessible, such as r/gameswho decided to switch to restricted mode.
Reddit is down too?
In addition to participating subreddits closing their doors, parts of Reddit went down during the first morning of the protest, with tens of thousands of users in the United States reporting outages via DownDetector.
Screenshot from Reddit/DownDetector, June 2023
Addressing concerns about Reddit’s API changes
An attempt from Reddit CEO Steve Huffman to address community concerns about the API changes a few days before the protest didn’t stop moderators from carrying out plans for a shutdown.
In the post, Huffman stated that Reddit needed to become a self-sustaining business and could no longer subsidize heavy data usage by third-party commercial applications.
He shared the following points about what moderators and developers can expect.
Free API access remains 100 queries/minute for OAuth clients and ten queries/minute for non-OAuth clients. This covers 90% of applications. Premium API access for higher usage will cost $0.24 per 1,000 API calls (less than $1/month for typical applications). Some apps, like Apollo, have decided that this price doesn’t work for them. Modification tools com NOTHING i Tool box you will continue to have free access to the API. Pushshift access will be restored for verified modifications. Mod bots that provide free value to users will continue to have access to the API. The beta version of the developer platform offers tools for modified tools, games and features. Access to NSFW content through the API will be limited on July 5th to provide “railroads.” Non-commercial accessibility apps will continue to have free access to the API.
Huffman acknowledged the moderators’ frustrations and said he respected communities that took steps to highlight their needs, including deprivation.
Moving forward
The Reddit boycott, sparked by proposed changes to Reddit’s API and subsequent pricing model, demonstrated the deep interconnectedness of the Reddit ecosystem, in which third-party apps play a critical role.
It also revealed a potential problem with Reddit’s business strategy: the exclusion of key stakeholders, namely third-party developers and community moderators, from decision-making processes.
The proposed changes pose a significant challenge to Reddit, threatening its essence as a democratic and accessible platform. The demands made by moderators during the protest indicate an urgent need for Reddit to reassess its strategies regarding third-party apps, taking into account the viability of those apps and the communities they serve.
Despite assurances from Reddit’s CEO that most apps would not be affected and that specific beneficial changes would be implemented, the widespread dissatisfaction and protest actions suggest a breakdown in communication and trust between Reddit’s management and its base of users
This situation underscores the importance of transparent and inclusive decision-making in technology companies, especially those that offer platforms for community interaction.
As Reddit navigates the choppy waters of these changes, it will need to carefully consider the interdependencies of its ecosystem. Reddit’s future will likely depend on its ability to balance commercial viability and preserve the democratic and open nature that has defined the platform.
Ultimately, the event underscores that community-driven platforms like Reddit run on more than algorithms and APIs: they’re driven by people, their needs, their creativity, and their desire for a shared digital space.
Featured image: Boumen Japet/Shutterstock
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