Reddit outlines new free speech policy

The popular online forum site, Reddit is doing some damage control after controversy arose concerning its free speech and content policy.

The site's CEO Steve Huffman hosted an Ask Me Anything Thursday and discussed what content was allowed (and not allowed) on the online message boards saying,"as Reddit has grown, we've seen additional examples of how unfettered free speech can make Reddit a less enjoyable place to visit, and can even cause people harm outside of Reddit."

According to Fortune magazine, Huffman went into detail on some of the content was considering restricting.

Huffman also discussed the banning of what some have called the "really dark-side" of Reddit, which includes a thread about raping women.

Reddit was sure to be clear and open about the policy change after complaints were made about how the company failed to to be "transparent" about modifications months before.

According to Time magazine this is what lead to the petitioning of former Reddit Interim CEO Ellen Pao's dismissal.

The petition accumulated more than 160,000 signatures.

Pao stepped down from the position last week, but in an open editorial in The Washington Post Thursday, she discussed that though she understood users' frustration with Reddit's lack of transparency she believed the content restrictions introduce were important in order to maintain a humane social environment for all users.

"Balancing free expression with privacy and the protection of participants has always been a challenge for open-content platforms on the Internet," Pao wrote. "But that balancing act is getting harder. The trolls are winning."