Last updated on February 27th, 2024 at 12:11 pm

Six months ago, a large-scale user protest over technical changes had significant repercussions, leading to permanent alterations on the ‘front page of the internet.’

In June, numerous Reddit communities went dark, rendering their pages inaccessible to the public, in a widespread protest against corporate policy changes. While user backlash against social networks is common, the scale of rebellion among Reddit’s moderators was unprecedented. Six months later, users and researchers note that reforms initiated by the movement are still causing ripples through the social network, known as the “front page of the internet.”

Opinions on the changes are varied. Some argue that the quality of posts on the forum site has shifted, while others note that the social network’s corporate parent seems more responsive, implementing changes long advocated by users and moderators. The clash with the company has left many of Reddit’s users feeling frustrated and doubtful, but a significant number are choosing to stay to observe how Reddit’s new direction unfolds.

When asked about the protest and participants’ demands, a Reddit spokesperson highlighted a response from the company’s CEO, Steve Huffman, who stated, “We are all responsible for ensuring Reddit provides an open, accessible place for people to find community and belonging. We respect when you and your communities take action to highlight the things you need, including, at times, going private.”

The protest stemmed from Reddit’s decision earlier in the year to start charging for access to its API, which impacted the ability of external companies and users to utilize data from the social network for their own products and services. This change sparked outrage among Reddit’s volunteer content moderators, many of whom relied on these tools to maintain the site.

In response, over 8,000 subreddits—forums within Reddit—with hundreds of millions of subscribers collectively went offline for days. Some of the site’s largest destinations became inaccessible or transformed into absurd, unusable parodies featuring only photos of John Oliver.

The scale of the response reflected the passionate user base of Reddit, which aimed to defend a site with a strong platform ethos—a place often described as “one of the last good social media sites,” where the sharing and policing of content is democratized.

RamsesThePigeon, a Reddit user for over 12 years and a moderator for most of that time, noted that users’ motivations for joining the protest varied among users and subreddits but largely revolved around content moderation. As a volunteer moderator for several of Reddit’s largest communities, he prefers to be identified by his username due to the anonymous nature of his role. For many, Reddit’s unilateral decision was seen as a disregard for the volunteers who dedicate countless hours of unpaid work to maintain the site. He added that the protest increased awareness among average users about this issue.

He noted, “Moderators very often feel like they don’t get nearly enough support, and almost no say whatsoever in the direction that Reddit the company has taken. This particular protest and the events that prompted it were a lot of folks’ first exposure to the tension that exists beneath the surface – it shook a lot of users’ faith in what they thought was a smoothly running system.”

Reddit executives argued that the changes were necessary to prevent companies, especially artificial intelligence startups creating large language models, from using Reddit’s data for free. With rumors of an imminent IPO swirling, the company is under pressure to make money – and CEO Huffman has acknowledged as much, stating at the time of the change: “Reddit needs to be a self-sustaining business, and to do that, we can no longer subsidize commercial entities that require large-scale data use.”

Revoking access to the API impacted certain browsing services that were popular among users who found the Reddit app lacking in navigability. These services were especially valued by users with vision impairments and other accessibility needs, who relied on third-party apps. Additionally, moderators used third-party tools to access and manage posts more easily and systematically.

Tim Rathschmidt, a Reddit spokesperson, clarified that the API changes were intended for large-scale commercial entities. He mentioned that the platform’s API remained open for non-commercial use with certain conditions, such as for research and academia upon request.

In response to moderator grievances, Rathschmidt expressed gratitude for the contributions of all individuals, especially moderators, in building Reddit’s community. He highlighted the recent launch of a central resource for moderators and emphasized that Reddit had made significant advancements in mobile mod tools. He also stated that Reddit planned to continue introducing updates and new features.

Recognizing the challenges moderators face, Rathschmidt assured that Reddit was closely collaborating with them to address their needs and actively seeking their feedback to enhance the platform.

Several of the most popular Reddit add-ons immediately ceased operations following the changes. Apollo, boasting over 1 million monthly users, criticized the company’s actions in a Reddit post, stating, “If they wanted something that could work for everyone, they would have simply made an effort to listen, instead of being dishonest, callous, and punitive in pricing.” Rathschmidt noted that Reddit had reached agreements with third-party browsers Luna, Dystopia, and Redreader, and that discussions were ongoing with others.

In response to complaints that the discontinuation of certain third-party browsing platforms impacted usability for users with vision impairments and other disabilities, Reddit commissioned an accessibility audit with an external consultant. Rathschmidt mentioned that the company had been “working on improving accessibility on the site and in our apps” and had established an accessibility feedback group. He stated that Reddit was on schedule to achieve full compliance with the World Wide Web Consortium’s accessibility guidelines by the end of 2024.