That’s how subscription services get you. Why buy DVDs when you can stream all day long on Netflix? Suddenly, DVDs are no longer for sale and streaming services take down content for one reason or another. Then you have no other legal alternative but to pay whatever they ask, be shown whatever they want and continue to own none of it.

The instances are structured much like discord, in that you have a separate server for topics/communities. Think of them as servers that can talk to each other. Instead of subreddits you have this.

Regarding Reddit (US company), well, depending on your values and political views, you might see the need and have the desire to not depend on/support the platform.