Community Autonomy and Centralised Governance: A Textual Case Study Of The Reddit API Virtual Sit-In

Abstract

Many content creators in online communities experience a power imbalance because of centralised social media governance while also focusing on profit. This paper investigates the Reddit API protest as a notable case of digital activism in the context of centralised online community governance. This coordinated protest aimed to disrupt Reddit’s operations, draw attention to the perceived injustices of the API changes, and pressure the platform to reconsider its policies. To determine how the Reddit API virtual sit-in demonstrated the difficulties of reconciling community autonomy with a perceived power imbalance, an interpretivist worldview was adopted. A total of 139 posts from June to July 2023 in nine subreddits were analysed using deductive, followed by inductive, thematic analysis. Data analysis revealed three main themes, namely planned disruption, collective action and solidarity, platform response and perceived success. The results reveal that while the protest showcased considerable community mobilisation, Reddit’s centralised governance structure limited the success of the virtual sit-in. The study contributes to discussions on digital activism and platform governance, suggesting that without decentralised models that empower user communities, digital protests may primarily serve as expressions of discontent rather than as mechanisms for noticeable changes.