Here is what this hacker thinks of a legal system in the USA and people's freedom:
The US government is far and away the best-funded and fearsome enemy in the world, and copyright law has some unusually large, if not cruel, penalties associated with it.
I echo Larry Lessig's notion that the US legal system needs a sense of shame. To an outsider like me, it seems that certain prosecutors in the US government are obsessed with making a name for themselves at the expenses of the individuals they pursue. Winning cases gains them the recognition and credibility needed for promotions and assignments to ever higher profile cases. For them, it's not about justice - it's about victory and self-aggrandizement.
This system of incentives contributes to the shameless bullying of individuals and small entities who have the guts to stand up and do something daring. Individuals are robbed of the will and strength to fight for what they feel is right, as the mere act of prosecution can be as much a punishment as the verdict. As a result, I fear that the era of civil disobedience may be coming to a close.
As people, as individuals, as hackers, we need to oppose this trend and continue to do what we feel deep down in our hearts is right. Without the right to tinker and explore, we risk becoming enslaved by technology; and the more we exercise the right to hack, the harder it will be to take that right away.
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