Various subreddits are planning to be unavailable in light of the community site’s decision to start charging for API access.
Reddit announced an update to its Data API in April, revealing changes such as higher usage limits, broader usage rights, extra developer capabilities, and a new access tier. However, not everyone liked the changes and has begun to do something about it.
A number of subreddits within the platform are planning to ‘go dark’ in 24-48 hours to protest against the API access changes, which means that the content will be inaccessible and private for a time. This change was used before to demonstrate solidarity within a community. Posts have surfaced calling the change detrimental, and that the API will be out of reach for third-party Reddit apps.
Reddit will start implementing the fee on June 19, and it remains to be seen whether the subreddits’ actions will change the company’s mind.
