RDDT is reportedly testing a requirement to log in before viewing full posts. Separately, reports say its shares fell more than 11% after its guidance came in below expectations. The latter figure currently lacks supporting market data and remains unverified.
My view is that the debate over requiring logins is not just about making users take an extra step; it is about whether this can address a situation where content is being scraped externally but the resulting traffic is not returning to the site. Both reports mention login-gated testing. One says management believes Google’s AI scraping has hurt traffic, but that claim still needs to be checked against the shareholder letter.
Another report says the company committed to spending $580 million on Google Cloud in a regulatory filing. For now, that amount comes from a single secondary account, and the filing’s terms remain unverified, so it cannot be used to draw conclusions about the effects of login requirements.
Next, we need to watch the scope of the test, changes in on-site traffic, and the wording of the original documents. If requiring a login blocks external scraping but also keeps new users out, is RDDT reclaiming the value of its content—or narrowing its own front door?
My view is that the debate over requiring logins is not just about making users take an extra step; it is about whether this can address a situation where content is being scraped externally but the resulting traffic is not returning to the site. Both reports mention login-gated testing. One says management believes Google’s AI scraping has hurt traffic, but that claim still needs to be checked against the shareholder letter.
Another report says the company committed to spending $580 million on Google Cloud in a regulatory filing. For now, that amount comes from a single secondary account, and the filing’s terms remain unverified, so it cannot be used to draw conclusions about the effects of login requirements.
Next, we need to watch the scope of the test, changes in on-site traffic, and the wording of the original documents. If requiring a login blocks external scraping but also keeps new users out, is RDDT reclaiming the value of its content—or narrowing its own front door?