Reddit blackout begins as forums protest charges for developers

Forums and communities including r/ireland go dark in protest over changes to the 'front page of the internet'

Reddit wants to charge developers of third-party apps, such as Apollo and Sync — which have been built to help users navigate the sprawling site — for pulling in data such as user posts and reader comments.

Millions of Reddit fans will find themselves locked out of their favourite pages in the coming days, as moderators take a stance against plans for the platform to charge third-party app developers for access to the site’s data.

The protest is expected to last at least 48 hours, although some groups have signalled they will stay dark for longer. Here’s everything we know right now: