Some North Carolina Reddit subforums have gone dark and pushing back. Here’s why
A Reddit blackout that has affected thousands of online communities is ongoing as users protest the website’s data policies.
The protest is in response to Reddit’s plans to charge third-party developers for access to its data — a move expected to go into effect on July 1, Vox reported.
Developers of third-party apps, such as Apollo, announced their plans to shut down on June 30 after Reddit said it would charge an estimated $20 million annually for access to its data.
As of Thursday afternoon, thousands of subreddits, including r/Charlotte, were inaccessible, CNN reported.
The r/NorthCarolina subreddit, which has nearly 400,000 members, “will remain in restricted mode until further notice to protest against Reddit’s API changes which will kill third-party apps,” according to a post on the site.
“We intend to remain in restricted mode through the end of the week, at which point we will reassess our status based on ongoing feedback from Reddit,” the post reads. “This way, users who need to find time-sensitive information can still search posts, but we will not be generating any new content in the short term. Thank you for understanding, and keep an eye on this space for updates.”
In an internal memo obtained by The Verge, a technology publication, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said the blackout hasn’t had “significant revenue impact,” and that the online boycott “will pass.”
“The most important things we can do right now are stay focused, adapt to challenges, and keep moving forward,” Huffman wrote. “We absolutely must ship what we said we would.”
This story was originally published June 16, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
