Reddit is at the moment beneath the lens of the Federal Commerce Fee (FTC) for its AI data-licensing practices, which had been revealed forward of a deliberate IPO.
The FTC’s inquiry focuses on Reddit’s “sale, licensing, or sharing of user-generated content material with third events to coach AI fashions.”
It comes as Reddit is making ready to go public, with plans to cost its shares between $31 to $34, doubtlessly valuing the corporate at roughly $6.5 billion.
Reddit is sitting on one of many largest gold mines in web content material historical past. Its intention to promote posts and feedback has induced an eruptive debate amongst its 850 million common month-to-month customers.
One Reddit submit is headed “Since Reddit is promoting person knowledge formally now, are your tales secure?” with responders agreeing to “begin dumping ineffective rubbish knowledge into Reddit day-after-day for the following sixty days.”
That’s an attention-grabbing level – Reddit’s knowledge is extremely delicate to person inputs, and with such robust communities in place, the corporate shouldn’t be too complacent about its entitlement to user-generated content material.
Nonetheless, Reddit argues that promoting knowledge stays harmonious with its rules, stating, “The chance doesn’t battle with our values and the rights of our Redditors.”
Reddit’s monetary outlook seems strong, with a 20% improve in income final 12 months, amounting to $804 million, largely pushed by promoting.
To this point, Reddit’s disclosure contains coming into into knowledge licensing agreements valued at $203 million. It expects to generate a minimum of $66.4 million from these preparations in 2024. It’s a modest a part of its complete revenue stream however may develop exponentially.
Reddit has already struck a partnership with Google aimed toward coaching AI fashions, amongst different goals. This highlights the significance of its knowledge in a world the place tech firms are more and more keen to pay for his or her knowledge reasonably than simply scrape doubtful ‘public use’ sources.
Reflecting on the FTC’s feedback, Reddit said, “We aren’t shocked that the FTC has expressed curiosity” in its knowledge licensing practices, attributing the scrutiny to “the novel nature of those applied sciences and industrial preparations.”
Moreover, Reddit asserts its perception within the legality of its practices, emphasizing, “We don’t consider that we have now engaged in any unfair or misleading commerce follow.”
The corporate additionally shared insights into the continuing dialogue with the FTC, noting, “The letter indicated that the FTC workers was enthusiastic about assembly with us to study extra about our plans and that the FTC supposed to request info and paperwork from us as its inquiry continues.”
The FTC has been taking a more durable line on tech offers in current occasions, with the company’s authorization of latest investigatory powers over AI firms final November.
The brand new paid knowledge goldrush
Knowledge has come cheaply to generative AI firms, with databases created by internet entities like Widespread Crawl and LAION forming the mainstay of coaching knowledge.
Nonetheless, that’s altering, with copyright lawsuits racking up and the EU AI Act making an attempt to mandate tighter knowledge practices for the business.
Furthermore, many web sites are actively blocking AI internet crawlers. The Wild West period of free coaching knowledge may be ending.
Reddit isn’t the one firm that is aware of the worth of its content material. Automattic, the guardian firm of WordPress and Tumblr, is reportedly in talks with MidJourney and OpenAI for a content material and knowledge deal.
As Reddit prepares for its IPO, the corporate’s trajectory will likely be carefully watched by each regulators and Redditors.
