Unbound - A Tribute to Aaron Swartz - video

Unbound: A Tribute to Aaron Swartz - YouTube:
Unbound: A Tribute to Aaron Swartz - exhibit at Thoughtworks NYC

"One year after his death, we pay homage to Aaron by launching an art exhibit: http://bit.ly/1j3w5C3. The exhibit is an artistic sociopolitical commentary that analyzes some of the issues Aaron tackled through his activism. "Unbound: A Tribute to Aaron Swartz" brings together artists and activist whom, much like Aaron, work tirelessly to challenge the status quo, disrupting unjust systems, giving voice to the voiceless and building movements for justice and equity. Aaron used technology as a tool. Artists use their art. Let us bring this exhibit everywhere!"

http://artforaaronswartz.launchrock.com/
http://thoughtworksnyc.com

VIDEO: Speakers--
Jared Hatch, Connector
Eliana Godoy, Exhibit Curator
Michael D'Antuono, Artist
Clara Rodriguez, Artist Advocate

Camera/edit: Joly MacFie
Title music: Francois Grillot
CC-BY-SA 2014 Internet Society New York Chapter
http://isoc-ny.org

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The Internet's Own Boy, The Story of Aaron Swartz

The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz: "Available Same Day as Theaters. Aaron Swartz's online presence and influence was groundbreaking. From helping develop internet protocol RSS to his work as a co-founder of Reddit, the programming prodigy helped shape the digital landscape we all use today. Chronicling his pioneering efforts crusading for open access and free speech and the resulting legal nightmare and tragedy that ensued, “The Internet’s Own Boy” is a dynamic and moving portrait of a brilliant tech millionaire who renounced the values of Silicon Valley startup culture and used technology to tirelessly fight for social justice, no matter what the cost."

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Aaron Swartz, The Day We Fight Back

https://thedaywefightback.org/: "A broad coalition of activist groups, companies, and online platforms will hold a worldwide day of activism in opposition to the NSA's mass spying regime on February 11th. Dubbed "The Day We Fight Back", the day of activism was announced on the eve of the anniversary of the tragic passing of activist and technologist Aaron Swartz. The protest is both in his honor and in celebration of the victory over the Stop Online Piracy Act two years ago this month, which he helped spur...." (read more at link above)

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Lessig on Aaron Swartz and his Bully Prosecutors

Never forget--

Lessig Blog, v2 - Prosecutor as Bully: " . . . Here is where we need a better sense of justice, and shame. For the outrageousness in this story is not just Aaron. It is also the absurdity of the prosecutor’s behavior. From the beginning, the government worked as hard as it could to characterize what Aaron did in the most extreme and absurd way. The “property” Aaron had “stolen,” we were told, was worth “millions of dollars” — with the hint, and then the suggestion, that his aim must have been to profit from his crime. But anyone who says that there is money to be made in a stash of ACADEMIC ARTICLES is either an idiot or a liar. It was clear what this was not, yet our government continued to push as if it had caught the 9/11 terrorists red-handed. . . . " (read more at link above)

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Why Did the Secret Service Take Over the Aaron Swartz Case?

More and more questions about MIT, the US government, and their persecution of Aaron Swartz--

Why Did The Secret Service Take Over Aaron Swartz's Case Two Days Before He Was Arrested | Techdirt: " . . . some highly unusual activity in the case. It had to do with Swartz's motion to get some of the evidence blocked from being used in the case, over questions concerning how it was collected. But one of the key things that come out is that, for unexplained reasons, the Secret Service took over the case just two days before Aaron was arrested . . ." (read more at link above)

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The Criminal Charges Against Aaron Swartz - Prosecutorial Discretion

The Volokh Conspiracy » The Criminal Charges Against Aaron Swartz (Part 2: Prosecutorial Discretion): "But the broader point is that if we think agressive prosecution tactics such as this are improper, we shouldn’t be focused just on the Aaron Swartz case. Rather, we should be shining a light on the federal criminal system in its entirety. These sorts of tactics have been going on for years, without many people paying attention. If we don’t want a world in which prosecutors have these powers, we shouldn’t just object when the defendant in the crosshairs is a genius who went to Stanford, hangs out with Larry Lessig, and is represented by the extremely expensive lawyers at Keker & Van Nest. We should object just as much — or even more — when the defendant is poor, unknown, and unconnected to the powerful. To do otherwise sends an extremely troubling message to prosecutors that they need to be extra sensitive when considering charges against defendants with connections. We have too much of a two-tiered justice system already, I think. So blame the system and aim to reform the system; don’t think that this was just two or three prosecutors that were doing something unusual. It wasn’t." (read more at link above)

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Web inventor says governments stifling internet freedom

Lest we forget--

Web inventor says governments stifling net freedom: The inventor of the World Wide Web warned . . .  that government control is limiting the possibilities of the Internet, as dozens of countries and businesses signed a cybersecurity deal at the Davos forum. The comments by Tim Berners-Lee at the World Economic Forum plugged into a wider debate among the delegates on the future of the Internet, particularly how to balance openness with privacy and security . . . "The dream is of a more open web," Berners-Lee told the gathering in the Swiss ski resort, citing social media as a way of breaking down barriers. But he said the recent suicide of Aaron Swartz, a 26-year-old US Internet activist who faced charges of illegally copying and distributing millions of academic articles, highlighted government efforts to police the Internet. "He downloaded a lot and so the Secret Service in the US decided that he was a hacker. For them that isn't the term of great praise that it is when I use it. For me a hacker is someone who is creative and does wonderful things," he said.
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Aaron Swartz Prosecution Team Claim They Have Been Threatened And Harassed

Aaron Swartz Prosecution Team Threatened And Harassed: " . . . Members of the legal team responsible for prosecution of Aaron Swartz have claimed they received threatening letters, emails and some had their social network accounts hacked following the death of the Internet freedom activist. The US Department of Justice filing claimed the lives of US attorney for Massachusetts Carmen Ortiz, assistant attorney Stephen Heymann and others were made miserable after hackers identified them and posted their personal details online, the practice sometimes known as “doxing”. . . ." (read more at links above and below)

Stephen Heymann - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: " . . . Heymann's conduct in United States v. Aaron Swartz has proven controversial.[18][19] A White House web site petition to fire him for his handling of the case garnered more than 25,000 signatures in less than a month.[5][20] One attorney for Swartz accused Heymann of using the case to gain publicity for himself.[21] Two others submitted a complaint to the Department of Justice Office of Professional Responsibility, accusing Heymann of prosecutorial misconduct and alleging the prosecution withheld exculpatory evidence and undermined Swartz's right to a fair trial . . ."

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New CFAA Draft Could Have Put Aaron Swartz in Jail For Decades Longer

Dysfunctional Washington at it again--

Congress’ New CFAA Draft Could Have Put Aaron Swartz in Jail For Decades Longer Than the Original Charges | Electronic Frontier Foundation: "Law professor and historian Tim Wu has called the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) the “worst law in technology.” The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has described the government’s interpretation of it “expansive,” “broad,” and “sweeping.” And Orin Kerr, former federal prosecutor and law professor, has detailed how the government could use it to put "any Internet user they want [in jail]." So it's pretty surprising to see that now, instead of reining in the CFAA’s dangerous reach, the House Judiciary Committee is floating a proposal to dramatically expand it and is reportedly planning to rush it to the floor of Congress during its April “cyber” week." (read more at link above)

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How US anti-hacking law went astray

Miscarriages of justice perpetrated by the so-called US Department of Justice--In 20 years, we've seen the law become broader and the penalties become more Draconian," says Hanni Fakhoury, a former federal public defender who's now an attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco (source CNET, infra)

From 'WarGames' to Aaron Swartz: How U.S. anti-hacking law went astray | Politics and Law - CNET News: " . . . Aaron Swartz, the Internet activist who committed suicide while facing the possibility of a felony criminal conviction, was prosecuted under a law that was never intended to cover what he was accused of doing. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1984 dealt only with bank and defense-related intrusions. But over the years, thanks to constant pressure from the U.S. Department of Justice, the scope of the law slowly crept outward. So by the time Swartz was arrested in 2011, the tough federal statute meant to protect our national defense secrets covered everything from Bradley Manning's offenses to violating a Web site's terms of use, a breathtaking expansion that has led to a House of Representatives hearingtoday and other calls for reform. In the hands of aggressive federal prosecutors, that wide-ranging law has become the proverbial hammer where a scalpel will do. It has been used against a New Jersey man who will be sentenced Monday for accesssing a portion of AT&T's Web site that was not password protected, and against a Missouri woman accused of lying on her MySpace profile. . . . " (read more at the link above)


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Aaron Swartz receives James Madison Award From American Library Association

The American Library Association Has Given Aaron Swartz Its First Ever ...
Business Insider
Famed Internet activist Aaron Swartz was honored today by the American Library Association. He became the first person to posthumously receive the association's James Madison Award. This is an award for those who champion public access to government ...Yesterday, Swartz's lawyer publicly released a letter sent to the Justice Department that accuses Assistant United States Attorney Stephen Heymann of prosecutorial misconduct. It details the lengths he went to in investigating Swartz and accuses him of coercing Swartz into a guilty plea.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/aaron-swartz-granted-posthumous-award-2013-3#ixzz2NfW0Ck4I and http://www.scribd.com/doc/130195421/2013-01-28-Redeacted-OPR

Business Insider

Swartz Gets James Madison Award From American Library Association
Broadcasting & Cable
"I hope that Aaron's death and this award can serve as a wake-up call to the US Congress and the federal government," said Swartz partner, Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman in a statement. "We must no longer allow corporate greed to be the bottleneck to ...

Aaron Swartz to be honored with freedom of ... - CNET News
Aaron Swartz, the Internet activist who committed suicide earlier this year while ...Administered by the American Library Association, the award recognizes ...
news.cnet.com/.../aaron-swartz-to-be-honored-with-freedom-o...

American Library Association Honors Aaron Swartz with Madison ...
Today, the American Library Association posthumously awarded activist AaronSwartz the 2013 James Madison Award for his dedication to promoting and ...
www.districtdispatch.org/.../american-library-association-hono...

Swartz Gets James Madison Award From American Library ...
The late Reddit cofounder and Internet activist Aaron Swartz was posthumously awarded the American Library Association's James Madison Award. The award ...
www.broadcastingcable.com/.../492355-Swartz_Gets_James_...

Aaron Swartz Honored by Library Association
The late internet activist Aaron Swartz has been recognized by American LibraryAssociation for his efforts to promote open access to research and government ...
politix.topix.com/.../5115-aaron-swartz-honored-by-library-as...

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Issa defends Internet freedom

Issa defends Internet freedom | UTSanDiego.com: ""Stick it to the man," said Issa, (US Congressman Darrell Issa) chairman of the House Oversight Committee, adding access to information is a "human right." Swartz took his own life last month as he faced multiple felony charges for allegedly hacking into Massachusetts Institute of Technology computers and downloading reams of scholarly articles he sought to make free to the world. Justice Department officials have agreed to brief Issa and other committee members about why the department originally charged the 26-year-old Swartz with four felony crimes and later upgraded it to 13 counts. Issa called that an overreaction and vowed that he and congressional colleagues will establish restraints on what he called an abuse of prosecutorial discretion. Swartz faced as much as 50 years in prison and $1 million in fines had he gone to trial as scheduled in April and been convicted. . . . "


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Steve Jobs and phone hacking

Steve Jobs and phone hacking: Exploding the Phone by Phil Lapsley, reviewed. - Slate Magazine: " . . . In the story of the phone phreaks Lapsley sees a greater lesson about the way society ought to handle those who think different. “There is a difference between mere curiosity and true crime, even if we cannot always clearly articulate what the difference is or what we should do about it when we recognize it,” he writes. “At some level, we as a society understand that there is a benefit to having curious people, people who continually push the limits, who try new things. But we’d prefer they not go too far; that makes us uncomfortable.” But that discomfort is often a sign that those curious people are on the right track. “If we hadn’t made blue boxes,” Steve Jobs said in 1998, “there would have been no Apple.” After all, as Lapsley points out, most of the phone phreaks didn’t care about making free long-distance calls. It was burning curiosity that motivated them. “There is a societal benefit,” he writes, “to tolerating, perhaps even nurturing … the crazy ones—the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes.” Sometimes those curious misfits turn out to be Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Edward Tufte—or Aaron Swartz."

If only Aaron Swartz had lived in the Steve Jobs era when overzealous prosecutors were still under control and accountable!


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Blast from the Past--prosecutorial misconduct in the Aaron Swartz case

Blast from the Past--prosecutorial misconduct in the Aaron Swartz case--story from September 18, 2012:

US Government Ups Felony Count In JSTOR/Aaron Swartz Case From Four To Thirteen | Techdirt: "Not much has been said about the Aaron Swartz case over the past year as the wheels of "justice" slowly grind their way to an eventual court date. Swartz, the executive director of Demand Progress, was charged with violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, a catch-all designation for "computer activity the US government doesn't like." Swartz had accessed MIT's computer network to download a large number of files from JSTOR, a non-profit that hosts academic journal articles. US prosecutors claimed he "stole" several thousand files, but considering MIT offered this access for free on campus (and the files being digital), it's pretty tough to square his massive downloading with any idea of "theft.". . . "

The prosecutors were squeezing Aaron hard--so hard that he committed suicide.  Isn't that a Department of Justice YOU are proud of! Read the full article here if you want a clue as to the misconduct of the US prosecution.  But Anonymous says they don't forget, and they don't forgive. So I expect the final chapters have yet to be written.

The Aaron Swartz case is just one of many disasters of the US Department of Justice under Eric Holder and Barack Obama--Fast and Furious, DEA murder and obstruction of justice, Kim Dotcom case . . . .

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Ortiz and Heymann--quite a "pair"

Federal prosecutor Carmen Ortiz, who threatened Aaron Swartz with decades in prison.(Credit: U.S. Department of Justice via cnet.com)

Swartz didn't face prison until feds took over case, report says | Politics and Law - CNET News "State prosecutors who investigated the late Aaron Swartz had planned to let him off with a stern warning, but federal prosecutor Carmen Ortiz took over and chose to make an example of the Internet activist, according to a report in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. Middlesex County's district attorney had planned no jail time, "with Swartz duly admonished and then returned to civil society to continue his pioneering electronic work in a less legally questionable manner," the report (alternate link) said. "Tragedy intervened when Ortiz's office took over the case to send 'a message.'" The report is likely to fuel an online campaign against Ortiz, who has been criticized for threatening the 26-year-old with decades in prison for allegedly downloading a large quantity of academic papers. An online petition asking President Obama to remove from office Ortiz -- a politically ambitious prosecutor . . . .  the sweeping nature of federal computer crime laws allowed Ortiz and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Heymann, who wanted a high-profile computer crime conviction, to pursue felony charges. Heymann threatened the free-culture activist with over 30 years in prison as recently as the week before he killed himself. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat whose district includes the heart of Silicon Valley, has proposed rewriting those laws. The Boston U.S. Attorney's office was looking for "some juicy looking computer crime cases and Aaron's case, sadly for Aaron, fit the bill," Elliot Peters, Swartz's attorney at the Keker & Van Nest law firm, told the Huffington Post. Heymann, Peters says, thought the Swartz case "was going to receive press and he was going to be a tough guy and read his name in the newspaper."

Well, Ortiz and Heymann will be reading their names alright--although probably not in the context they planned.  Apparently, in their arrogance or ignorance, they thought they were above accountability, all-powerful, "untouchable," and could destroy a life without consequences.

We'll see.

And by the way, the Swartz case was not an anomaly in the way this US Attorney office operated--just read the CNET article for more info.

In the meantime, now we've heard from Anonymous.

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Anonymous hacks MIT after Aaron Swartz's death

Anonymous hacks MIT after Aaron Swartz's suicide | Internet & Media - CNET News: " . . . Anonymous targeted at least two MIT Web sites. Lacking the loose-knit group's usual feisty language, the message posted on the Web site was a call for reform in the memory of the late Internet activist. After calling the prosecution of Swartz "a grotesque miscarriage of justice" and "a distorted and perverse shadow of the justice that Aaron died fighting for," Anonymous outlined its list of goals under a section reservedly labeled "Our wishes:"

We call for this tragedy to be a basis for reform of computer crime laws, and the overzealous prosecutors who use them.
We call for this tragedy to be a basis for reform of copyright and intellectual property law, returning it to the proper principles of common good to the many, rather than private gain to the few.
We call for this tragedy to be a basis for greater recognition of the oppression and injustices heaped daily by certain persons and institutions of authority upon anyone who dares to stand up and be counted for their beliefs, and for greater solidarity and mutual aid in response.
We call for this tragedy to be a basis for a renewed and unwavering commitment to a free and unfettered internet, spared from censorship with equality of access and franchise for all.

 MIT Responds to Death of Activist Aaron Swartz, Begins Investigation - Mike Isaac - News - AllThingsD: " . . . . MIT is considered to have tacitly supported the decision by U.S. attorneys Carmen Ortiz and Steve Heymann to continue pursuing Swartz’s criminal prosecution, which left him facing penalties of upwards of 30 years in prison and $1 million in fines. Swartz’s family issued a statement on Saturday, placing some of the blame for Swartz’s death on both MIT and the U.S. Attorney’s office. “Aaron’s death is not simply a personal tragedy. It is the product of a criminal justice system rife with intimidation and prosecutorial overreach,” the statement read. “Decisions made by officials in the U.S. Attorney’s office and at MIT contributed to his death.” The university will conduct a self-audit of its role in the events of the past two years, according to president Reif. “I have asked Professor Hal Abelson to lead a thorough analysis of MIT’s involvement from the time that we first perceived unusual activity on our network in fall 2010 up to the present,” he wrote. “I have asked that this analysis describe the options MIT had and the decisions MIT made, in order to understand and to learn from the actions MIT took. I will share the report with the MIT community when I receive it.” Abelson is a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT, and one of the founding members of both the Creative Commons and the Free Software Foundation. The U.S. Attorney’s office has not responded to a request for comment."

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Rest In Peace Aaron Swartz

Aaron Swartz commits suicide - The Tech: One comment (out of many) - ". . . Aaron represented the very best that youth has to offer the nation. There must have been several forces that drove him down this tragic end, but one, certainly, has to have been the ignorant and despicable governmental thugs that conspired and contributed to this loss. Just check his web site http://www.aaronsw.com to get a hint of his genius and humanity. I for one would like to know the names and organizations of those in government whose active participation caused resulted in this tragic end. My deepest sympathies to his family . . ."

Aaron Swartz, a celebrated internet freedom activist and early developer of ...
BBC News
Aaron Swartz, a celebrated internet freedom activist and early developer of the website Reddit, has died at 26. The activist and programmer took his life in his New York apartment, a relative and the state medical examiner said. His body was found on...

BBC News

Death of internet activist Aaron Swartz prompts flood of Twitter tributes
The Guardian
The death of Aaron Swartz, the Reddit co-founder and internet freedom activist who is reported to have killed himself in New York on Friday, prompted a flood of tributes on Twitter. Given Swartz's status as a committed and prominent advocate for online ...

The Guardian

Aaron Swartz, internet activist and builder of Reddit, dies at 26
The Guardian
A committed advocate for the freedom of information over the internet, Swartz had been facing a trial over allegations of hacking related to the downloading of millions of documents from the online research group JSTOR. Swartz pleaded not guilty last ...

The Guardian

Aaron Swartz, Reddit co-creator and Internet activist, dead at 26
GlobalPost
He also did a fellowship at Harvard's Ethics Center Lab on Institutional Corruption, and was a fervent activist for Internet freedom: Swartz founded Demand Progress, a group that campaigns against censorship of the world-wide web, according to CNN.

Cofounder of Reddit and Internet Freedom Fighter Kills Himself ...
By John Furrier
At the moment the Internet community is have a virtual wake. Aaron was a young star in the tech community who was known for doing the right things for good not money. Apparently on some bogus government shakedown by MIT related ...
SiliconANGLE

Internet freedom activist Aaron Swartz commits suicide - AfterDawn
R.I.P Aaron Swartz. Swartz, the celebrated Internet activist took his own life earlier today. He was 26. The programmer was also one of the original developers of Reddit ...
AfterDawn.com

Aaron Swartz, internet freedom activist, dies aged 26, page 1
By SaltireWarrior
Aaron Swartz, a celebrated internet freedom activist and early developer of the website Reddit, has died at 26. The activist and programmer took his life in his New York apartment, a relative and the state medical examiner said. His body was ...
AboveTopSecret.com New Topics...

Aaron Swartz, Reddit founder and internet freedom activist, commits ...
By Nancy Clayson
Aaron Swartz, a celebrated internet freedom activist and early developer of the website Reddit, has died at the age of 26.
BelleNews.com

Aaron Swartz, who co-authored the RSS 1.0 specification ... - WBEZ
Swartz, who at 14 co-authored the RSS 1.0 specification, which is widely used for publishing news stories, was often described as a brilliant thinker and architect in the Internet freedom movement by his close friends. He was also considered ...
WBEZ - Metro Desk


Rest in Peace, Aaron Swartz.

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