Subreddits Plan to Go Dark on June 12 to Protest Reddit's API Charges

Thousands of Reddit communities announced they would go private for 48 hours beginning Monday (June 12) to protest how the site was being run.

Subreddits, as Reddit fora are called, also protest the site's introduction of controversial Application Programming Interface (API) charges to developers of third-party apps, which are used to browse the platform.

Strength in Numbers

At least around 3,500 subreddits would participate in what was called the "Reddit blackout," including five of the top 10 subreddits on the site.

Unlike other social media sites, Reddit heavily relies on paid administrators and community moderation, most of them on a volunteer basis. As a result, the platform does not charge any hosting fees for people looking to set up their own community based on their personal interests.

Some of the most popular subreddits that would participate in the protest include r/gaming, r/aww, r/Music, r/todayilearned and r/pics. A moderator for one of the major subreddits told the BBC the protest was about "strength in numbers."

"If it was a single subreddit going private, Reddit may intervene," the user said. "This is a completely volunteer position, we don't receive any financial compensation, and despite that, we do like to take it quite seriously."

Reddit Says It Needs Money to Keep the Site Running

In response, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said the company "[needed] to be a self-sustaining business." "We respect when you and your communities take action to highlight the things you need, including, at times, going private," he added.

In a separate statement, a representative for Reddit said it was spending "multi-millions of dollars on hosting fees" and "needs to be fairly paid" to continue supporting third-party apps. "Our pricing is based on usage levels that we measure to be comparable to our own costs," the spokesperson said.

Reddit was also preparing to file for an initial public offering (IPO) later this year.

Job Cuts

Meanwhile, Reddit announced this week it would cut 5% or 90 of its employees in order to downsize and restructure its organization.

In an email to employees, Huffman said the company has "reviewed and adjusted" its plans until the end of 2024. "We've had a solid first half of the year, and this restructuring will position us to carry that momentum into the second half and beyond," he added.

Nevertheless, Huffman did not disclose how the layoffs and fewer hires would affect the operations and functionality of the website.