Home>Life>Digital Culture
Reddit will lean on the "basic social contract of the web" for help.
ByElizabeth de Luna on
Credit: Silas Stein/picture alliance via Getty Images
In May, Reddit announced it would allow OpenAI to train its models on Reddit content for a price. Now, according to The Verge, Reddit will block most automated bots from accessing, learning from, and profiting from its data without a similar licensing agreement.
Reddit plans to do this by updating its robots.txt file, the "basic social contract of the web" that determines how web crawlers can access the site. Most nascent AI companies (including, at one point, OpenAI) train their models on content they've scraped from across the web without considering copyright or the Terms of Service of individual sites.
SEE ALSO:
Reddit's traffic is way up – but why? It's Google.Per The Verge's Alex Heath, search engines like Google got away with this form of scraping thanks to the "give-and-take" of Google sending traffic back to individual sites in exchange for the ability to crawl them for information. Now, AI companies are tipping the balance by taking that same information and providing it to users without sending them back to the sites the information came from.
Mashable Top Stories
Stay connected with the hottest stories of the day and the latest entertainment news.
Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter
By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Thanks for signing up!
Reddit's chief legal officer, Ben Lee, told The Verge that the parameters of robots.txt are not legally enforceable but that publicizing Reddit's intention to enforce its content policy is "a signal to those who don’t have an agreement with us that they shouldn’t be accessing Reddit data."
In a blog post about the change, Reddit noted that "good faith actors – like researchers and organizations... will continue to have access to Reddit content for non-commercial use." These include the Internet Archive, home to the Wayback Machine.
TopicsArtificial IntelligenceReddit
Elizabeth de Luna
Culture Reporter
Elizabeth is a digital culture reporter covering the internet's influence on self-expression, fashion, and fandom. Her work explores how technology shapes our identities, communities, and emotions. Before joining Mashable, Elizabeth spent six years in tech. Her reporting can be found in Rolling Stone, The Guardian, TIME, and Teen Vogue. Follow her on Instagram here.
Recommended For You
OpenAI acquires search and analytics startup Rockset. What does that mean?
Well, we know it's related to data retrieval.
By Cecily Mauran
Yelp's latest update adds new ways to find accessible businesses and AI-powered alt text
Search for braille menus, ADA compliant buildings, and even closed captioning on bar TVs.
By Chase DiBenedetto
WWDC 2024: Apple announces new Safari with Highlights and 'distraction-free' Reader sidebar
Safari was not left out at this year's WWDC.
By Cecily Mauran
OpenAI confirms GPT-4 successor in training stage
The AI race continues to heat up.
By Shannon Connellan
Major AI models are easily jailbroken and manipulated, new report finds
Easily jailbroken models show safeguards are failing.
By Chase DiBenedetto
More in Life
Twitch announces the 'Bleed Purple Statue,' a physical award for streamers
Streamer Achievement Awards are physical awards that Twitch will give to creators who hit certain watch hour milestones.
By Matt Binder
YouTube demonetized Dr Disrespect over allegations from earlier Twitch ban
He's suspended from YouTube's Partner Program.
By Matt Binder
Amazon deal of the day: Grab a Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite for $90 off ahead of Prime Day
Other top deals include a Blink video doorbell, Traeger wood pellet grill, and Insignia 50-inch 4K Fire TV.
By Jillian Anthony
YouTube Premium gets 'jump ahead,' a new picture-in-picture mode, and more
Plus, all sorts of possible new Premium plans in the works
By Matt Binder
Instagram is rolling out AI chatbot versions of creators, Mark Zuckerberg says
Chatting with AI versions of celebs! Nothing sad about that!
By Tim Marcin
Trending on Mashable
NYT Connections today: See hints and answers for June 30
Everything you need to solve 'Connections' #385.
By Mashable Team
NASA craft snaps unprecedented photo of largest volcano in solar system
A Martian giant.
By Mark Kaufman
'Wordle' today: Here's the answer hints for June 30
Here are some tips and tricks to help you find the answer to "Wordle" #1107.
By Mashable Team
Aliens haven't contacted us. Scientists found a compelling reason why.
"It's like winning the lottery."
By Mark Kaufman
A surprise in NASA's asteroid rocks hints Bennu came from an ocean world
Scientists didn't see this in the spacecraft's earlier data.
By Elisha Sauers
The biggest stories of the day delivered to your inbox.
This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.
Thanks for signing up. See you at your inbox!
- TECH
- SCIENCE
- LIFE
- SOCIAL GOOD
- ENTERTAINMENT
- BEST PRODUCTS
- DEALS
- About Mashable
- Contact Us
- We're Hiring
- Newsletters
- Sitemap
Mashable supports Group Black and its mission to increase greater diversity in media voices and media ownership. Group Black's collective includes Essence, TheShadeRoom and Afro-Punk.
©2005–2024 Mashable, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All Rights Reserved.
Mashable is a registered trademark of Ziff Davis and may not be used by third parties without express written permission.
- About Ziff Davis
- Privacy Policy
- Terms of Use
- Advertise
- Accessibility
- Do Not Sell My Personal Information
