Aaron Swartz - This Worries Me
The prominent internet developer and activist Aaron Swartz hung himself due to a Federal Investigation, involving publication of academic papers.
According to Wikipedia:
On January 6, 2011, as a result of a federal investigation, Swartz was arrested in connection with systematic downloading of academic journal articles from JSTOR. Swartz opposed JSTOR's practice of compensating publishers, rather than authors, out of the fees it charges for access to articles. Swartz contended that JSTOR's fees limited access to academic work produced at American colleges and universities.
Aaron was 26.
There has been a petition to remove the prosecutor, Stephen Heymann, from office. The petition has already reached over 25,000 signatures. Heymann was involved in another case where a young hacker killed himself.
To all of you who want to know how to tell young progressives why not to support the Big Government, here is the case. To read more on Aaron, his Wiki page is here.
To those who worry about the future, here is the case that has the potential to change many minds.
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Aug '10
Re: Aaron Swartz - This Worries Me
Swartz knew what he was doing would be considered illegal by the authorities. His hacking was an act of civil disobedience.
One of the most basic tenets of civil disobedience is that you are willing to endure the state's punishment for what you believe. Thoreau went to jail rather than pay taxes for the Spanish American War.
If Swartz was a rational human being, then he should have known what he was getting into, and accepted the risks involved.
If Swartz was not a rational human being (as his history of mental illness suggests), then the prosecutor cannot be held responsible for Swartz's actions.
Jul '11
Re: Aaron Swartz - This Worries Me
@Misthiocracy -
So, in other words, one should only speak up if they are in perfect health and stand up to the moral character and philosophies of Thoreau. All others need not apply?
Aug '10
Re: Aaron Swartz - This Worries Me
Barkha Herman: @Misthiocracy -
So, in other words, one should only speak up if they are in perfect health and stand up to the moral character and philosophies of Thoreau. All others need not apply? · 2 minutes ago
He did not merely "speak up". If he had limited himself to "speaking up" he would never have been prosecuted.
He engaged in computer hacking which he knew would be considered a criminal act but which he believed shouldn't be a criminal act.
One should only engage in criminal acts of civil disobedience if one is willing and able to endure the consequences. All others need not apply.
Jul '11
Re: Aaron Swartz - This Worries Me
I guess one gets the Government one deserves...
Mar '12
Re: Aaron Swartz - This Worries Me
This is a conundrum for me.
The power of the state to run roughshod over an individual and spend that individual into the ground, using the court's demands to force massive and excessive legal expenditures on the part of the defendant, is a fact of life these days. A real contempt for the worth of the individual and of how "innocent until proven guilty" citizens are treated appears to be de rigueur by government prosecutors in cases that are or could be highly visible.
On the other hand, it is not the place of the individual to mandate "law" on his or her own authority. Mr. Swartz could have paid for the info and been spared the legal problems.
As to whether Mr. Swartz was suffering a mental condition is an open question. I would not trust the government attorney to diagnose a person's mental condition. That belongs to people trained to look for mental conditions, not to those who attempt to cause mental conditions to abet their cases.
Mar '11
Re: Aaron Swartz - This Worries Me
That would have completely defeated the point of what he was attempting though. This imbroglio came about because of Mr. Swartz's displeasure with U.S. intellectual property law, the course of action you suggest would have undermined his point.
It is an interesting case as it highlights what appears to be a rather obscure issue, IP reform, that has a significant number of passionate supporters among youth and information technology professionals yet is completely ignored by both political parties.
Yes a chance likely to be squandered. The firing of GOP staffer Derek Khanna for even bringing up the topic of IP reform rather shows how there is no one in the GOP willing to even discuss this topic.
Jul '11
Re: Aaron Swartz - This Worries Me
This is a prosecutorial zeal issue or maybe a prosecutorial punishment issue. Aaron Swatz downloaded public domain documents in mass from JSTOR for distribute via bit torrent. Any of these documents can be viewed at most public libraries and colleges around the world for free. MITs network caught the data dump and shut him down. He surrendered himself, the equipment used, and data copied. MIT kept out of it, JSTOR declined pressing charges in both criminal and civil courts, the US government soldiered on even increasing the number of charges and going after to a max of 35 years. Most of us in the industry believe that he was being punished not for the JSTOR hack but because of his contributions in defeating SOPA. BTW-since his death all charges have been dismissed.
Jul '11
Re: Aaron Swartz - This Worries Me
Roberto
Yes a chance likely to be squandered. The firing of GOP staffer Derek Khanna for even bringing up the topic of IP reform rather shows how there is no one in the GOP willing to even discuss this topic. · 5 minutes ago.
I looked for anything concerning this on Drudge. No dice. Glenn Reynolds has it though, as does Reason.
There may yet be hope.
Jul '11
Re: Aaron Swartz - This Worries Me
The action of MIT in this case worry me more than the current administration's action.
That there is not more outrage also worries me.
May '11
Re: Aaron Swartz - This Worries Me
An overzealous team of federal attorneys trying to make a name for themselves as "tough on hackers" decided to treat this like it was a breach of national security. It was not...
What he did was hardly "hacking", but it was wrong. Should he have been punished? Of course. However, threatening to send him to federal prison is just bullying. Heymann is a cyber-justice crusader who already has blood on his hands. Ortiz should have reined him in, but she didn't. She either sat on her hands or was a willing participant. Just another stellar Obama appointee happy to let government overreach happen on their watch.
Mar '11
Re: Aaron Swartz - This Worries Me
Barkha Herman
Roberto
Yes a chance likely to be squandered. The firing of GOP staffer Derek Khanna for even bringing up the topic of IP reform rather shows how there is no one in the GOP willing to even discuss this topic. · 5 minutes ago.
I looked for anything concerning this on Drudge. No dice. Glenn Reynolds has it though, as does Reason.
There may yet be hope. · 42 minutes ago
Note the nature of both of those sites though, libertarian. Libertarian inclined voters get ignored by the GOP on issues they are far more vocal about than a matter such as this.
If a story such as this showed up at say NRO or American Spectator that would be another matter.
Edited on January 15, 2013 at 6:50pmJul '11
Re: Aaron Swartz - This Worries Me
Roberto
Note the nature of both of those sites though, libertarian. Libertarian inclined voters get ignored by the GOP on issues they are far more vocal about than a matter such as this.
Tragedy, that is.
Sep '12
Re: Aaron Swartz - This Worries Me
The best defense of Aaron Swartz is by Alex Stamos at Unhandled:
http://unhandled.com/2013/01/12/the-truth-about-aaron-swartzs-crime/
Jul '11
Re: Aaron Swartz - This Worries Me
@jarhead: or this one from quartz.
This thing promises to grow.
We can sit it out at our peril (center right that is).
Feb '12
Re: Aaron Swartz - This Worries Me
I am running a risk here, because I am fairly ambivalent with regards to intellectual property/internet and am coming into the story, at this point here. I found both of the arguments in favor of Mr. Swarz referenced in posts#13 an #14, completely unconvincing. They both tried too hard, with eloquence, to paint what was done as equivalent to checking out too many books in the library, no big deal. Or that MIT didn't try hard enough to keep these materials from being taken. I think that a more apt description would be that he went into the library and made myriad copies of all the books and left, without checking out, and then commence to give away the copies. Various people will have differing opinions on the level of criminality or moral trespass this is, but this is what he did. They were not his to handle as he did.
I can buy a book from Barnes & Noble. I can download it from Itunes. I can get a card and check out the same book from a library. I can not give away the books that Barnes & Noble, Itunes and the Library offer.
Mar '11
Re: Aaron Swartz - This Worries Me
Looks like the man had mental problems to me. Protest IP laws all you like... I think there's plenty of room for reform there... but the Constitution says Congress has the exclusive jurisdiction on copyright law. You don't simply ignore it.
Nov '10
Re: Aaron Swartz - This Worries Me
Journal subscriptions (and all things research-related) cost immense sums because they are paid for by the university, which, in turn, is largely funded by the government. Aaron did not understand this, and so blamed the concept of intellectual property itself. Foolish, very foolish.
Jul '11
Re: Aaron Swartz - This Worries Me
The issue of prosecutorial zeal has eaten me since Johnny Sutton burned agents Ramos and Compean on pretty bogus charges. I lost all respect for George Bush because of this issue.
What boggles my mind is that these self serving aggressive lawyers don't get murdered more often. This boggling is likely because I'm wired wrong.
Mar '12
Re: Aaron Swartz - This Worries Me
Roberto: #6 This imbroglio came about because of Mr. Swartz's displeasure with U.S. intellectual property law, the course of action you suggest [paying for the info] would have undermined his point.
A man who committed suicide over who gets paid for ownership of professional articles no longer has a point to make. He himself undermined his point. He won't be heard in a court of law after having taken what was not his to take, and giving away what was not his to give away.
If there was a point to be made, if the law was as disagreeable as Mr. Swartz thought, he should have made the point elsewhere. He failed to do so in a dramatic fashion.
Jul '11
Re: Aaron Swartz - This Worries Me
Unlike Barnes and Nobles, which is a commercial enterprise, these are Academic Papers and are not for sale. Also, the authors get no money from JSTOR.