Reddit CEO assures employees subreddit blackout will blow over

In an internal memo circulated on Monday, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman addressed the recent backlash faced by the company, advising employees to stay focused and disregard the surrounding "noise".

He expressed confidence that the ongoing blackout of thousands of subreddits would eventually subside.

Major Reddit clients have expressed concerns that the elevated costs of maintaining their apps could potentially amount to millions of dollars annually. As a result, more than 8,000 Reddit communities have gone dark in protest. While many of these subreddits are expected to resume normal operations on Wednesday, some have announced their intention to remain private indefinitely until Reddit implements changes.

Huffman noted that the blackout had not caused a "significant revenue impact" and anticipated that most subreddits would be back online by Wednesday. He acknowledged the uproar surrounding the situation, describing it as one of the noisiest instances encountered. Huffman reassured employees that Reddit's teams were actively addressing the issue, emphasising that this, like previous controversies on the platform, would eventually pass.

He further emphasised the need to deliver on promises made, highlighting the importance of product improvement in the long term, while also mentioning imminent critical mod tool launches that require attention.

The CEO also cautioned employees against wearing Reddit-branded items in public, warning that they could become targets of user frustration directed towards the API pricing changes.

Reddit initially announced the upcoming modifications to its API pricing in April, presenting them as a means of monetising companies that utilise Reddit data to train artificial intelligence tools. However, over the past few weeks, it has become evident that these changes could have significant ramifications for third-party app developers as well. Apps such as Apollo for Reddit and rif is fun for Reddit have already announced their impending closure on June 30, just one day before the new pricing structure is scheduled to take effect.

The enraged users orchestrated widespread blackouts of subreddits, causing a temporary crash of the site on Monday.