>I'd much rather issues like these were debated democratically than some tech company deciding one day that they need to view my private messages to "protect the children".

I agree with your general point except most people in the tech community are not willing to even have these debates. It is often treated as an issue with a single right answer and that encryption can never be compromised.

Removing ourselves from the debate is only going to end up with the decision being made without our input.