if you want to recline you have to 'rent' the space from the person behind you
they don't get to veto, but you get charged $20 and that $20 gets credited to the acct that paid that ticket OR you can opt for voucher from airline?
There was a time when for $20 you could purchase a "Knee Defender" seat blocker to install that kept the person from reclining into you. A few mid-air fights later, they removed it for sale and arrested folks for trying to use it.