Reddit unmoved by mass protest, CEO says the “noise” will pass

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Reddit is unmoved by the ongoing mass protest on the platform. In an internal memo to employees, CEO Steve Huffman labeled the protest as a “noisy” blowup that will eventually pass. He encouraged the staff to stick to the plan as the mass subreddit blackout doesn’t have any significant impact on the company’s revenue.

Steve Huffman doesn’t care about the mass protest from the Reddit community

More than 8,000 subreddits have gone dark (private) starting this Monday in protest against Reddit’s recent API policy changes. The company has introduced a paywall to access its APIs, which have been free all this while. The plan is to monetize the data it has in store, but the prices are proving too high for most third-party apps to afford. Many of them are now shutting down due to this change, including the two biggest names, Apollo and RIF (aka Reddit is Fun).

However, the Reddit CEO seemingly doesn’t care about this mass protest from the community. “There’s a lot of noise with this one. Among the noisiest we’ve seen… and like all blowups on Reddit, this one will pass as well,” Huffman said in an internal memo seen by The Verge. He urged the staff to stay focused and stick to the plan. “We absolutely must ship what we said we would,” the Reddit CEO said.

He added that the company hasn’t seen “any significant revenue impact” due to the ongoing protest, so there’s no reason to worry. Moreover, Reddit expects most subreddits to come back online “by Wednesday” as it is supposed to be a 48-hour protest. However, some subreddits have said that they will remain private indefinitely until Reddit makes changes to its new API policy. Several subreddits participating in this blackout have millions of subscribers.

Unfortunately, Reddit doesn’t seem to be willing to listen to the community. Huffman has already made it clear that the new API prices are final and the company wouldn’t make any concessions for third-party apps, even if they have to shut down. It’s a decision made in the best interest of its business. “We’ll continue to be profit-driven until profits arrive,” Huffman said during an AMA with users last Friday. “Unlike some of the 3P [third-party] apps, we are not profitable.”

Reddit CEO warns employees about wearing company items in public

Steve Huffman has also urged employees to avoid wearing Reddit items in public. The Reddit CEO said he doesn’t want his staff to suffer because of the anger directed at the company. “I am sorry to say this, but please be mindful of wearing Reddit gear in public. Some folks are really upset, and we don’t want you to be the object of their frustrations,” he said in the internal memo. You can see the full memo here.

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