But the issue goes way beyond Reddit and is central to how the open web has worked so far.
However, it works on the honor system with few ways to enforce it.
Last week, Ars Technica was reporting that Reddit posts were notappearingin any search engines except for Google.
“I think the traditional value exchange from search engines has changed,” Huffman told The Verge.
“That’s their real position.”
So far, Google andOpenAIare the only search engines on Reddit’s whitelist.
Reddit profiting from user-generated content through these licensing deals is still a hot potato.
On the other hand, these licensing deals are not much different from those of other companies.
It is unconfirmed but doubtful that these publications pass those profits to their writers via raises or bonuses.
Does that make it right?
No, and the courts are still trying to decide about this unprecedented activity.
However, it’s par for the course at this point.
And this very issue is not limited to Reddit but all online publishers, big and small.
Until there are governing regulations, the AI gold rush will be like the California gold rush of 1848.
Meanwhile, companies like Reddit and Vox will keep handing them the shovels.
Image credit:Jernej Furman
