Reddit is considering blocking search engine crawlers like Google and Bing due to disputes with AI companies over payment for its data. Initially dismissing the report, Reddit later clarified that user logins were the only thing not changing. If no deals are made with AI companies, Reddit posts may be invisible in search results, impacting user experience. This issue mirrors a trend seen with Twitter, now known as X, implementing new pricing tiers for its API.
Reddit Contemplates Blocking Google Search Crawlers Over AI Data Disputes
Reddit, the popular online community platform, is considering a significant change that could impact how its content appears on search engines like Google and Bing. This decision comes as a result of disputes with AI companies over payment for Reddit’s data.
Initially, Reddit dismissed the report by The Washington Post, stating that “nothing is changing.” However, the situation has evolved since then.
Courtney Geesey-Dorr, a spokesperson for Reddit, initially claimed that The Washington Post would correct its story. After the article was amended, the main change was that Reddit users no longer needed to log in to see content. However, if Reddit fails to secure deals with generative AI companies, it may prevent search engines from crawling and indexing its content, effectively making Reddit posts invisible in search engine results.
“Reddit can survive without search,” an anonymous source informed The Washington Post.
Tim Rathschmidt, another spokesperson for Reddit, clarified that the company’s initial statement about “nothing is changing” only referred to user logins. He stated that there was nothing to share regarding crawlers at the moment.
This potential change could affect the user experience for individuals who use Google to access Reddit. In the past, many Reddit subforums went dark to protest changes in the company’s API pricing. During that period, users faced difficulties accessing Reddit content through search as most links led to private communities.
The main issue arises from Reddit’s efforts to make AI companies pay for using its data, which is commonly used to train large language models. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman mentioned discussing these changes with AI companies but did not provide specific details.
The Washington Post also highlighted that over 535 news organizations have chosen to block their content from being scraped by AI companies like OpenAI. This trend is not limited to Reddit alone. X, formerly known as Twitter, has introduced new pricing tiers for its API, citing data scraping issues as the reason behind the change.
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