Reddit, one of the largest social media platforms in the world, is set to earn a whopping $203 million in revenue by licensing user posts to tech giants like Google for AI projects. This move has not gone unnoticed, as the platform recently received a letter from the US Federal Trade Commission regarding the licensing of user-generated content with third parties for AI training.
Lawmakers and rights groups have expressed concerns about privacy risks, fairness, and copyright issues related to licensing user-generated data for AI. Despite this, Reddit is not the only company that has signed deals to license data for AI projects; other companies like Stack Overflow, the Associated Press, and Automattic have also joined in.
While Reddit insists it has not engaged in unfair or deceptive practices, dealing with government inquiries can be both costly and time-consuming. The rise of AI chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini has been seen as a competitive threat to Reddit and other content-driven businesses that rely on user-generated data.
The practice of licensing data to AI developers has raised important questions about data ownership, fairness, and the potential for tech companies to become even more dominant in the industry. Critics have also highlighted concerns about personal data leakage and the lack of compensation for creators whose data is used in AI training.
As the debate over data licensing for AI projects continues, it remains to be seen how platforms like Reddit will navigate these issues while balancing the needs of users, tech companies, and regulators.
