Reddit introduces API changes that put the help it provides AI machines behind a paywall
Today, Reddit introduced new API changes that will prevent its content pipeline from being used to train artificial intelligence tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Bard, and Microsoft’s Bing AI.
With data resources like Reddit, AI chatbots are capable of providing powerful answers — and now it intends to make that robot food behind a paywall.
A number of social media sites, including Reddit, are used to train large language models (LLMs) that can respond to human prompts in a cogent manner. The API helps companies find and package useful data directly, and some of this data can be scraped in an unstructured manner.
Developers have previously been able to do almost anything with the app’s API, which has been available since 2008. That includes creating clients for browsing Reddit, as well as helping moderate subreddits.
For some use cases, such as building moderation tools or using Reddit in educational and research settings, the app will keep the API free.
Specifically, Reddit’s new terms apply to developers who use its APIs in ways that require “broader usage rights” and will not automatically grant licenses to anyone needing to modify user content.
Commercial usage, such as training LLMs, will not be granted a developer license and will instead require parties “to enter into a separate agreement with Reddit.” The platform has not yet determined how much it will charge commercial users.
As of yet, Reddit hasn’t explained how API changes will directly affect third-party Reddit clients like Apollo, Rif, and Relay. Reddit does mention in its Data API terms that it can impose limits on how many API requests are made, which could be a big issue since clients need to use OAuth tokens to verify their Reddit accounts.
Christian Selig, Apollo’s sole developer, asked on Reddit how “enforcing rate limits” will affect apps like his. An admin of the site answered vaguely, saying it depends on API usage volume.
Reddit plans to launch an IPO later this year, with its monetization mostly coming from advertisements (which have their own APIs) and digital goods. But as more AI platforms emerge, the company wants to build on the value of its user-generated content. “The Reddit corpus of data is really valuable,” its CEO Steve Huffman states in an interview with The New York Times. “We don’t need to give all of that value to some of the largest companies in the world for free.”
Twitter’s APIs have also been locked down under Elon Musk’s ownership, which could affect both commercial and noncommercial users.
The new Reddit terms will take effect “following a 60-day notice period” after developers and third parties receive a notice via email. It will also release new moderator tools that work with its official iOS and Android apps.
