Digg’s user revolt, and the site’s subsequent decision not to comply with demands to take down articles containing a key to the copy protection on high-definition video discs, have raised all sorts of interesting questions about censorship, copy protection and democracy in this user-driven, Web 2.0 world.

But won’t someone think of the investors? Kevin Rose, Digg’s founder, has taken millions of dollars in investment from backers including Pierre Omidyar, Marc Andreesen and Graylock Partners. By Mr Rose’s own admission, that investment may now go up in smoke:

"You’d rather see Digg go down fighting than bow down to a bigger company," he said today in a message to Digg’s users. "We hear you, and effective immediately we won’t delete stories or comments containing the code and will deal with whatever the consequences might be. If we lose, then what the hell, at least we died trying."

We’ve just confirmed that Digg declined to consult its financiers before deciding to risk exposing the company to potentially crippling copyright lawsuits. Jay Adelson, Digg’s chief executive, says that although he undertands the risks, "investors in Digg have really empowered management to make these sorts of decisions."

Whether Digg’s investors will come to regret that level of empowerment remains to be seen. In the meantime, Mr Adelson says, "we’re going to get back to work, get back to democratising the media and empowering our users."

May 2nd, 2007 in Media | Permalink