Reddit CEO's Fiery Remarks Ignite Backlash Over Protests, Moderators, and Third-Party Apps

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman is facing resistance in light of protests against the platform’s API changes. In recent interviews with The Verge, NBCNews, and NPR, Huffman defended the company’s decision to charge third-party apps, stating that the API was not originally intended to support such clients. During these interviews, he also discussed the challenges posed by protesting moderators, evolving site rules, and the pursuit of profitability. Despite the growing backlash from the Reddit community, Huffman seems determined to stand firm.

What led to the current situation at Reddit?

In April, the platform announced plans to introduce charges for its API, though specific pricing details were not disclosed. Christian Selig, the developer of the popular iOS Reddit client called Apollo, revealed in a post earlier this month that he had spoken with Reddit representatives. According to Selig, the quoted API pricing could amount to a staggering $20 million per year for running the app. Faced with the unwillingness of the social network to reconsider its pricing structure, Selig reluctantly made the decision to shut down Apollo. Other third-party developers of clients like Reddit is Fun and Relay for Reddit have also expressed their intention to discontinue their apps by June 30.

Reddit did make an exception by allowing free access to the API for non-commercial apps that provide accessibility features. The company struck deals with apps such as RedReader, Dystopia, and Luna, exempting them from the “large-scale pricing terms.” To protest these changes, thousands of subreddits initiated a blackout on June 12, resulting in a brief service disruption. In the midst of these events, Huffman took a firm stance during his Ask Me Anything (AMA) session, taking a jab at Apollo and Selig. As moderators saw no signs of change, many subreddits decided to extend their blackout.

Protests and moderators

The subject of protests and moderators became a significant point of discussion. In one interview, Huffman even likened protesting moderators to “landed gentry.” He argued that politicians and business owners are accountable to their constituents and can be elected or fired by shareholders, respectively. However, he viewed Reddit as a platform where those who arrive first can maintain their position indefinitely, passing it down to their descendants, which he considered undemocratic. Huffman expressed his plans to introduce changes to the moderator policies to allow users to vote them out. Currently, higher-ranking moderators or the company itself have the power to remove moderators. Interestingly, a moderator from r/Apple posted on Twitter (via 9to5Mac) that Reddit had threatened to remove moderators who were participating in an indefinite blackout.

In a blog post, Reddit linked to its Moderator Code of Conduct, emphasizing the importance of dissent, debate, and discussions on the platform while respecting the right to protest. However, the rules also state that uncooperative moderators can be removed by the company. Despite these statements, Huffman clarified that Reddit had no plans to hire paid moderators or make decisions that would centralize power.

This indicates that the company is content with having unpaid moderators oversee and maintain the communities. A study conducted last year estimated that moderators spend 466 hours per day on these tasks. If Reddit were to pay them $20 per hour, the cost would amount to $3.4 million annually.

Role of third-party apps

Another key issue raised during these protests is the role of third-party apps. Reddit has repeatedly stated that it will continue to provide free access to the data API, with most apps, such as bots, exempt from charges as they are not commercialized. In recent weeks, Huffman has emphasized the need for commercialization and profitability for Reddit. One aspect of this process involves charging for the API. In the latest interviews, Huffman expressed willingness to work with developers and discuss a more extended transition period. He argued that some of these apps generate millions of dollars annually using Reddit’s data while the company bears infrastructure costs of up to $10 million per year, as he revealed to The Verge.

Huffman took responsibility for the policy change affecting these apps, acknowledging that Reddit’s API was never designed to support third-party apps, though it was allowed to exist. He admitted that he had underestimated the extent to which these apps were profiting from their use of Reddit’s API, realizing that they were not operating as charities.

Addressing the numbers game

Reddit published a blog post stating that 80% of the top 5,000 communities with the highest daily active users are now accessible. Huffman told NPR that the protesters represented a small, vocal group, and the larger Reddit community supports the platform. He acknowledged that the protests had caused some trouble but claimed that they had not significantly impacted the company’s revenue. However, reports suggested that certain advertisers had paused their campaigns during the blackout. To attract more advertisers, Reddit has been introducing additional advertising tools.

Regarding the impact of third-party apps being shut down, Huffman stated that 97% of users access Reddit through the site or the official app, contributing to the platform’s daily active user base of 57 million. The blog post also mentioned that 93% of moderator actions are performed using Reddit’s own tools, and the company has promised to introduce more features. Both the blog post and Huffman’s comments aimed to convey that the protests were led by a small subset of users and did not reflect the sentiments of the larger user base.

While there has been speculation about Reddit going public, the CEO’s current focus is on achieving profitability. Huffman stated in an interview with The Verge that an initial public offering (IPO) is something the company would like to pursue eventually, but there are other goals he wishes to accomplish before reaching that point.

In response to Huffman’s comments, moderators are exploring ways to make their blackouts more effective. Some communities are also setting up servers on alternative sites like Lemmy and Kbin as an alternative approach.