Reddit CEO Steve Huffman announces move away from open web

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman has announced that the platform will restrict access to its content, requiring users to log in to view information. This decision marks a significant shift away from the open web model.

The move is a response to changes in how search engines, specifically Google, handle data. Huffman noted that AI-generated summaries from Google are capturing information without directing traffic back to Reddit threads. This has resulted in a significant loss of visibility, with search engine referrals dropping by more than one million per week in October.

This decline in traffic follows Reddit’s third-quarter results, which showed a decrease in daily active users in the United States from 53.2 million in the second quarter to 50.7 million in the third. Following these reports, Reddit shares fell 18% in after-hours trading.