Reddit Chief Executive Officer Steve Huffman is not backing back despite protests over API modifications implemented by the platform. In interviews with the New York Times, NBCNews, and NPR, Huffman defends the business decision made by Reddit to charge third-party apps, arguing that the API was not specifically designed to support such clients.
Its Reddit co-founder also discussed the issue of protesting moderators and changing rules on the site and maximizing profits through this interview. The site is experiencing one of the most severe protests from the community However, the CEO does not want to change his mind.
The month of April was when Reddit made it clear that it will charge users for its API however, it didn’t reveal any pricing. In the last month Christian Selig, the creator of the well-known Reddit app for iOS named Apollo wrote that he’d had a conversation with Reddit. Pricing for APIs offered by them could be as high as $20 million per year to run the application.
Read More:- What are the concerns of moderators and users regarding Reddit’s API pricing changes?
Selig later stated that because the social media platform isn’t prepared to change its pricing system, he will be required to close Apollo. Other third-party developers of clients such as Reddit Is Fun and Relay for Reddit have also announced that they’ll close their applications by June 30.
One exception Reddit made was to grant access for free to the API for non-commercial applications that offer access features. Reddit has signed agreements with apps such as RedReader, Dystopia, and Luna and granted these apps exclusions in their “large-scale pricing terms.”
