Reddit CEO Steve Huffman is slamming protesters who have made large parts of the website inaccessible this week, comparing the unpaid volunteer moderators leading the blackout to wealthy land barons.
In interviews Thursday, Huffman spoke out for the first time since the mass protest began this week over Reddit’s plans to charge money for third-party apps to gain access to its data. The change prompted several popular third-party apps — including Apollo, Reddit is Fun and Sync — to say they would shut down ahead of the July 1 price increase because they cannot afford to pay millions a year.
The company’s move sparked backlash from Reddit moderators and users, who responded by taking down about 9,000 subreddit message boards for 48 hours. Some moderators have indicated their subreddits will remain blacked out indefinitely in protest.
Huffman, a Reddit founder, has downplayed concerns about the protest action, telling employees in an internal memo Monday that the blackout “will pass” like “all blowups on Reddit,” according to the Verge.