There are quite a few open source platforms that could be modified to technically replace TikTok. Peertube could probably be forked or modified to fill that ga

There are quite a few open source platforms that could be modified to technically replace TikTok. Peertube could probably be forked or modified to fill that gap. I do not believe that is the obstacle. Running a massive site like that is incredibly expensive, requires a lot of employees, servers, bandwidth, geographic locations, moderators and more moderators. Then there would be the fun that comes with creating a competing site to TikTok, dealing with all its followers and anyone that has a vested interest in TikTok especially when the alternative gains any popularity. The only open source case I can think of that has some success is Mastodon and that is because it's creators let people launch their own mini communities but that is a different social model all together, probably closer to self hosted forums with a different UX/UI. TikTok's success comes from the centralized discoverability and its algorithms. Mastodon on the other hand is a fenced garden. Almost anyone can walk through the garden gate but AFAIK there is not a centralized search function for full discoverability.