Over 7,000 subreddits go dark to protest Reddit API changes

Reddit recently announced changes to its application programming interface (API) program, including new charges for third parties who access the company's tool and data. This will effectively shut down some popular third-party apps people use to browse Reddit. 

In response, over 7,200 Reddit communities, named subreddits, have gone private. The move, orchestrated by Reddit moderators after communities voted in support, makes the subreddits inaccessible to anyone, including its members. 

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Reddit is a social media site that resembles a forum, where members follow communities focused on particular interests rather than individuals. These subreddits can have millions of members and each one of them will see the community's posts on their feed any time they log in to Reddit — except today and tomorrow.

The blackout is a result of outrage over Reddit's decision to charge millions of dollars for the use of its API and access to its data beginning on July 1. Because of these new charges, several of the most popular third-party Reddit apps like Apollo, Sync, and Pager will shut down due to the inability to afford costs. 

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Christian Selig, developer of the Apollo app, said in a Reddit post that the company would presumably charge Apollo $20 million per year for API access. “I hope it goes without saying that I don't have that kind of money or would even know how to charge it to a credit card,” he added. Apollo is set to shut down on June 30. 

Though the Reddit site launched in 2005, the first official Reddit mobile apps for iOS and Android were launched in 2016. Before the official apps launched, mobile users browsed Reddit through web browsers or third-party apps. Since then, the official Reddit apps have added advertising, while many of the most popular third-party apps have not, so many users have preferred to keep using them over the years.

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This is where the widespread outrage and subsequent protest involving tens of millions of Reddit users stems from.

In an ‘ask-me-anything' (AMA) session last week, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said of Selig, “His behavior and communications with us [have] been all over the place — saying one thing to us while saying something completely different externally; recording and leaking a private phone call — to the point where I don't know how we could do business with him.”

The AMA soon turned sour, with Huffman answeringfewer than 15 questions and instead having other administrators answer the rest. 

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The blackout, which includes the most popular subreddits on the site, started at 10:15 am ET and will last 48 hours. 

Selig included the following in his post: “I asked Reddit if they were flexible on this pricing or not, and they stated that it's their understanding that no, this will be the pricing, and I'm free to post the details of the call if I wish.”