Thousands of Subreddits Remain Dark Amid Ongoing API Pricing Dispute
A massive moderator protest continues to impact Reddit as thousands of communities stay private over new API pricing that threatens third-party apps. Reddit defends the changes as a necessary step to stop subsidizing commercial data usage.
Thousands of Reddit communities remain inaccessible as a widespread moderator protest continues over the platform's new API pricing structure. The backlash stems from Reddit's decision to charge for API access, a move designed to generate revenue from commercial entities that use Reddit data to train generative AI models like ChatGPT.
While the protest initially forces over 7,000 subreddits to go dark by switching to private mode, Reddit reports that more than 80 percent of its top 5,000 communities by daily active users are now back online. However, tracking data indicates that over 4,600 subreddits are still remaining private as moderators maintain their stance against the pricing changes.
Reddit defends its new policy by stating that it can no longer subsidize commercial entities that require large-scale data use, noting that supporting third-party apps incurs infrastructure and opportunity costs. The company emphasizes that non-monetized applications still access its Data API for free, and points out that other platforms choose to cut off third-party API access entirely rather than charge for it.