There’s an existential internet debate at the heart of the Reddit blackouts.
, who covers Reddit for the Wall Street Journal, about what the war between Reddit and its users says about the internet today. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Emily Peck: Since its inception, Reddit’s API has been open and free to use, and that’s spawned an ecosystem of apps that make the experience of scrolling through Reddit better. Who uses these apps, and who will be affected by the change?These are all apps that are meant to be used by Reddit people. There’s a Reddit app that’s meant to help people who are blind to hear the content. There are many tools that are meant just for the moderators, for making sure their communities are safe.
Reddit isn’t the first social media platform to close off its API. Which other companies have taken similar steps? We’re seeing Twitter do the same thing. Some other applications have also either increased prices or started introducing prices. I do think there’s a good chance that the generative A.I. boom is what sparked this. Right now, the tech sector is hurting—we’ve seen massive layoffs. All these factors are making the tech sector a little bit shaky these days and putting them in a position of “Gee, we really need to find other ways to generate revenue and become profitable.
When Twitter started asking users to pay for their previously free blue checks, there was no blackout moment, no protest. It’s interesting that Reddit users can mobilize in a way that other social media sites’ users wouldn’t or can’t.Reddit users can mobilize because they have control over the communities, they can turn them private. On Twitter, certainly any one user could just stop posting or cancel their accounts, but it’s not going to have this big effect.
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