I think hacker culture and freedom have always gone hand in hand. In bygone days hackers could claim apoliticalness in already "free" places which is also generally where they flourished. Now when they are realizing they are much less free than they thought they are seen/see themselves as "politicizing". But being a hacker always was a political statement, it used to just mesh more with the popular culture so they mistook themselves for being like everyone else, and having no agenda.
Furthermore, here in particular, you have the instincts of a entrepreneurial community.
It isn't difficult to conclude that the foundation of support for authoritarianism from the general population comes from a desire to preserve order, and a fear that unregulated or unrecorded speech and communication is more likely to enable bad changes and events than good changes.
Entrepreneurs however tend toward believing that disruptive innovation on balance does more good than bad, and believe that one of the hurdles that must be surmounted is to undermine the influence of established businesses and centers of power that have a stake in limiting innovation.
