I believe the biggest problem for PeerTube is copyright. YouTube thrives on user-generated content. I, for example, am involved in the live music scene (I go to concerts). It’s common practice for recordings of concerts to be uploaded to YouTube. This is usually unproblematic until an artist objects to a particular video and demands its removal. Generally, YouTube has agreements with rights holders, so uploading recordings is usually not an issue.
This is different on PeerTube. Here, each instance is liable for its own content. If a user uploads copyrighted material, this can lead to problems for the instance operator or the user. Currently, PeerTube is still small enough that such content is possible. But if PeerTube were to become a real alternative to YouTube, it would become a problem!
Of course, content is also uploaded to YouTube that can cause problems for YouTube. But YouTube has enough lawyers and money to handle that. PeerTube operators, however, do not!
Therefore, in my opinion, the biggest problem is that PeerTube can’t become a major YouTube alternative because users can’t easily upload the same content as on YouTube.
What do you think?
Not everybody is so kind. In Germany, for example, lawyers are quite quick to issue cease-and-desist letters, which always involve costs. I’ve heard of Friendica instances that have already run into legal problems because, for example, copyrighted images were posted/federated. You’re being a bit too naive about that.
I would love to see some examples of that.