Digital Platform Policy Highlights - Digest 40

Q4 2024 Policy Changes: In this post, we look at how well-known platforms are tweaking their policies to keep users happy and improve the overall experience. Classical Platform Economic Chess Moves :)

Mar 26, 2025

This post is part three of a series documenting policy changes and feature improvements introduced by platforms in Q4 2024.

TL; DR→ Here are policy changes to retain existing users:

Reddit Requires Employee Approval for Subreddit Privatization

This move mirrors how Twitter (now X) restricted developer API access to regain control of its content. The interesting angle of this policy change is how Reddit is recalibrating the moderator-platform-user power dynamic that once enabled effective protests. By limiting privatization—the most powerful tool moderators wielded during the API pricing protests—Reddit is is forcing a reckoning on the fundamental question of content ownership. While Reddit's ToS has long claimed ownership rights, this policy change actively demonstrates their willingness to exercise those rights when monetization pressures mount. I wonder if this signals the inevitable endgame of platform economics: communities build value, but the infrastructure provider ultimately captures it when profitability demands arise. (link)

WhatsApp Adds Option to Unsubscribe from Business Spam

The new feature by WhatsApp Business, with over 200 million monthly active users, reveals how WhatsApp is attempting to solve the classic platform dilemma: monetizing business access without degrading the core user experience. By adding granular controls like "interested/not interested" and "stop/resume," WhatsApp is effectively outsourcing spam detection to users while collecting valuable preference data that can refine its business messaging algorithms. This could be Meta realizing that WhatsApp's dominance in markets like India and Brazil—where the app functions as a primary communication tool—requires different monetization approaches than Facebook's more aggressive ad strategy. (link)

Starlink Introduces Affordable Internet Plan in Kenya Amid Safaricom Competition

Starlink's strategic price reduction in Kenya ($30.87 monthly residential plan) right after Safaricom increased its fibre internet speeds suggests Starlink is monitoring competitive dynamics closely. Safaricom has recently been advocating for satellite internet providers to partner with local mobile network operators. With this price decrease, Starlink is executing a classic platform maneuver: establish direct user relationships first, negotiate from strength later. (link)

Google Integrates Wayback Machine for Historical Web Access

Google is adding links to the Internet Archive for web pages in its search results – allowing users to see past versions of the sites. While this is almost a replacement of Google's cached pages feature (which was removed in February 2024), this switch also allows Google to redistribute the costs and responsibilities of web preservation to a non-profit. This could be a beginning of a broader trend of commercial platforms strategically withdrawing from preservation roles that offer limited monetization potential. The concerning aspect is the resulting concentration of our digital historical record in a single non-profit entity, leading to questions about long-term resilience. (link)

Unity Abandons Controversial Per-Install Runtime Fee

Unity's reversal on its per-install Runtime Fee demonstrates the delicate power balance between platforms and their developer ecosystems. Unity would have charged developers based on the number of game installations, but is now returning to a seat-based subscription model, with Unity Personal remaining free and its revenue ceiling increased to $200,000. Pro and Enterprise subscriptions will see price increases. This retreat, following unprecedented developer protest, illustrates an interesting dependency between developers and platform when it comes to monetization. I wonder what would have happened if the platform did not budge to protests. (link)

YouTube Launches 'Hype' to Boost Smaller Creators

YouTube’s 'Hype' intends to help users find and support smaller creators. Aimed at channels with fewer than 500,000 subscribers, Hype lets users endorse videos, with the most-hyped content showing up on a special leaderboard. Each user gets three hypes per week, and smaller channels earn more points per hype to level the playing field. With this move, YouTube is addressing a fundamental platform maturity challenge: the Matthew Effect, where popular creators naturally accumulate more attention. Also, platform longevity requires continuous creator pipeline development as competitive platforms like TikTok aggressively court emerging talent. (link)

Research help from Aarav Gupta, John Mai, Simran Joshi, Anantesh Mohapatra, and Nicole Wu (Thanks a ton, folks!)

Thank you for reading Platform Policy Research. If you know someone who like this stuff, please share it with them :)

Platform Policy Research