I counter that organizations like Sony have already so subverted our democracy that this entire point is moot. The laws that allow them to do what they do were not enacted in a democratic fashion. And to be honest I'm more concerned with the ends than the means anyway, finally. Democratic ideals are something everyone should strive toward to be sure, but things have perhaps degraded to the point that they need to be set aside in the short term.
"The laws that allow them to do what they do were not enacted in a democratic fashion."
Which laws specifically have been passed by Congress despite the fact that, say, 60%+ of the people would greatly disagree with it, and empower Sony to do these things?
I consider the DMCA a great mistake. I've spent way more time than the average Internet denizen thinking so, thinking about it, writing about it [1]. I have some very refined opinions on how bad an idea it is.
I do not delude myself into thinking that I have the support of the people.
Most people don't care, shading into supporting the basic functionality of the DMCA, at least come vote time. Sorry. It's the truth. It has even perhaps been passed via some dubious methods, but, again, certainly not above the will of the people.
I think a lot of people use "subverted Democracy" as a code word for "enacted something I don't like". But that's not a subversion of democracy; that's when you enact something a lot of people don't like.
Yes, there's a time and a place for writing the system off and taking justice into your own hands. This isn't even close to it. That's not something to be taken lightly.
Are you sure the DMCA was enacted democratically? That it was passed by Congress isn't strong evidence for that.
To be honest we're probably not going to find much common ground here. I don't consider America a democratic nation, or at least not an example of one to strive toward. But I think I can distinguish between "subverted Democracy" and "enacted something I don't like."
