Dear netizens of /r/AskEurope,

We wanted to inform you about Reddit's recently announced plan to change API access, planned for the 1st of July. If it goes ahead, it will disproportionately increase the cost of operation for third-party apps and bots, posing insurmountable financial challenges for developers and threatening the accessibility and customisability of Reddit.

Not only would this affect third-party app users, but it also has broader implications. For example, the changes would make Reddit less accessible for blind and visually impaired people, as highlighted in a recent post by the moderators of /r/blind. Additionally, it sets a worrisome precedent that could lead to the removal of features like old.reddit.com or Reddit Enhancement Suite.

Reddit's plan to charge exorbitant fees for API access is not a poor decision in isolation. The decision to shut down Pushshift access, a valuable tool for archiving comments, further demonstrates their unilateral decision-making without proper consultation. We hope that this approach will change, with Reddit being more constructive in the future.

Ultimately, we believe that recent actions by Reddit executives do not have the best interests of Reddit users in mind. To express our opposition, in a coordinated effort with other subreddits /r/AskEurope will be unavailable during 12 - 14 June.

Best regards,

- the moderators of /r/AskEurope