This is becoming one of the most abused sayings in the startup world.
In this case “ask for forgiveness” could mean going out of business in the process. You can only afford to “ask for forgiveness” and break the law if you’re willing to lose it all.
Why the IA did this as part of their long established archive business instead of a separate venture is beyond me.
Uber still exists and that is proof that their plan worked. They didn't just break laws (and a lot of what they broke were just regulations, not "real" laws, and those regulations were often corrupt anyway): they also lobbied to get the laws/regulations changed, including through the California ballot proposition process and by directly approaching politicians in the EU, and they have won numerous lawsuits.
The Internet Archive appears to have simply decided they could break copyright law, which is a very well supported area of law unlike taxi regulations, and they made no efforts to protect themselves. Pretty stupid. I certainly would not donate to an organization that might waste my donations on stupid things like this.
In this case “ask for forgiveness” could mean going out of business in the process. You can only afford to “ask for forgiveness” and break the law if you’re willing to lose it all.
Why the IA did this as part of their long established archive business instead of a separate venture is beyond me.