The Great Reddit Blackout: Why Your Favorite Subreddits Will Go Dark Today

In a bold move of defiance, over 3,000 of Reddit’s largest communities are set to go dark on Monday as they unite in protest against the social news site’s decision to monetize access to its data. 

What Happened: In a remarkable display of collective discontent, thousands of Reddit’s largest communities have synchronized their efforts to go private as a form of protest against the platform’s recent decision to monetize access to its data.

The ramifications of this clash extend beyond the platform’s monetization strategy, unraveling a deeper conflict between Reddit, AI companies and the devoted user base that relies on third-party applications, reported The Guardian. 

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The protesters said, “On June 12th, many subreddits will be going dark to protest this policy. Some will return after 48 hours: others will go away permanently unless the issue is adequately addressed, since many moderators aren’t able to put in the work they do with the poor tools available through the official app.” 

What Is The Reason: At the core of the protest lies a dispute surrounding upcoming modifications to Reddit’s “API,” a crucial interface enabling external companies to utilize Reddit’s data in their offerings.

The proposed alterations introduce exorbitant fees for “premium access,” which would devastate beloved third-party Reddit applications like Apollo. 

Christian Selig, the developer of Apollo, estimated that these apps would have to charge users around $5 per month solely to cover the newly imposed expenses imposed by Reddit.

However, at the heart of the Reddit conflict lies a distinct clash that pits the social network against AI companies like OpenAI, who have extensively scraped vast quantities of data from the platform to train their systems, the report noted. 

What Subreddits Are Involved: Subreddits, including renowned ones such as r/todayilearned, r/funny, and r/gaming, have chosen to make their posts inaccessible to the outside world, amplifying their dissent

High-profile subreddits like r/iPhone and r/unexpected, counting over a million members, have already taken preemptive measures by going private in preparation for the imminent strike. 

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