What happened
On April 18, 2023, Reddit announced it would end the free, unlimited access to its data API that had been available since 2008. Chief executive Steve Huffman framed the change around large companies harvesting Reddit's content to train artificial-intelligence models, arguing that Reddit did not need to give that value to the world's largest companies for free. The policy was selective rather than universal.
Developers building moderation tools and academic researchers were promised continued free access, while commercial-scale data consumers would pay rates to be set later. Updated API and developer terms were slated to take effect on June 19, 2023, with specific pricing promised for June. The announcement came ahead of Reddit's anticipated public listing and was distinct from the later per-request pricing reveal that triggered the blackout.