This is the whole point of federation, having multiple instances, and being open source. It’s also why a bunch of the people on here are Linux heads.

Keep on mind that lemmy isn’t owned by a single corporation ir organization. It is a bunch of individually owned instances that talk to each other. This means that if you own an instance, you have contr of how it is moderated, but you have to balance that freedom with making your instance a place other instances will have to connect to. Its very democratic.

This goes all the way to the source code, which is open. So, even if the devs try to change it and exert more control, it could be forked.

Of course, you could still be a doomer and say something could come along and ruin it. But, it’s at least better than private, venture funded internet platforms on paper.