I totally agree. If we (for the sake of argument) were to assume that TikTok allowed this, obviously there's nobody offering these people any better alternative

I totally agree. If we (for the sake of argument) were to assume that TikTok allowed this, obviously there's nobody offering these people any better alternatives. So why should TikTok be demonized? The people who critizise TikTok are free to build a better and cheaper platform themselves.