A fallen hero, Aaron Swartz
Celebrating the life of “the internet’s own boy”
At the young age of 26, Aaron Swartz tragically ended his own life, leaving behind a legacy marked by unfair persecution and a shocking legal battle. He faced a deplorable prosecution, charged with 13 criminal counts for downloading millions of articles from JSTOR, an online journal library, through MIT's network.
In his "Guerilla Open Access Manifesto" Aaron boldly stated, "There is no justice in following unjust laws." It was precisely due to an unjust law that prosecutors had the authority to pursue a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison and impose a staggering fine of $1 million against Swartz.
Aaron Swartz was an extraordinary individual whose contributions played a pivotal role in shaping the internet as we know it today. He dedicated his life to championing civil rights, which underpin the foundations of our modern civilisation. Let us journey back in time to explore the life and remarkable achievements of this young internet pioneer and "hacktivist" who possessed the potential to transform the world.
1999: The Info Network
At just 12 years old, Aaron Swartz developed the Info Network, a user-generated encyclopedia similar to an early version of Wikipedia. His remarkable achievement earned him the esteemed 2000 ArsDigita Prize.
2000: RSS 1.0
At 14 years old, Aaron Swartz joined a groundbreaking working group that helped create RSS (Really Simple Syndication) , a standardised web feed format for accessing website updates. His early involvement demonstrated his remarkable talent and contributions to web technology.
2002: Creative Commons
During his teenage years, Aaron Swartz played a crucial role in the development of Creative Commons (CC) as one of its early architects. He contributed to designing the code layer for CC licenses. Creative Commons is a non-profit organisation with a worldwide reach, providing free licenses that enable creators to make their work more accessible to the public. These licenses simplify the process of granting permission to others to use the work under certain specified conditions. As Aaron grew older, he became a driving force in the movement that propelled Creative Commons to great success, advocating for a free and open internet.
2005: Infogami and Reddit merge
During his freshman year at Stanford University, Aaron Swartz founded Infogami, a versatile content management system aimed at creating visually captivating websites. This project received funding from Y Combinator's inaugural Summer Founders Program. Although Infogami did not achieve significant success on its own, Aaron later merged it with Reddit, a widely popular social news aggregation platform. This collaboration led to his recognition as a co-founder of Reddit. Just a year after the merger, Aaron and his co-founders sold the company to Conde Nast for $10 million. Today, Reddit is valued at $10 billion.
"a piece of knowledge, unlike a piece of physical property, can be shared by large groups of people without making anybody poorer."
— Aaron Swartz
2006: The Open Library
In a future where online book searches break free from Amazon's dominance, The Open Library emerges as a singular hub for all written works. Aaron Swartz and four other founders launched this ongoing initiative, aiming to create a comprehensive repository of books accessible to all. Today, the Open Library remains dedicated to universal access and the preservation of knowledge.
2008: PACER download
In a notable act, Aaron Swartz downloaded approximately 2.8 million federal court documents from the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) database. At the time, PACER charged users 8 cents per page for access to these documents. Carl Malamud, the founder of the nonprofit organisation Public.Resource.Org, argued that these documents, being federal, should be freely available since they are not subject to copyright restrictions. He called on the public to upload their paid documents to the website to provide open access for all. Answering this call, Aaron utilised a Perl computer script running on Amazon cloud servers, using credentials from a Sacramento library that granted free access to the PACER database to download the documents.
2010: JSTOR download
On September 25, 2010, Aaron Swartz employed guest login credentials at MIT to initiate a high volume of PDF download requests on the JSTOR website. This activity caused a slowdown in the site's performance. Aaron strategically connected his laptop to a networking switch in a secure wiring closet at MIT. Over time, he successfully downloaded more than 4 million PDF files, storing them on his personal hard drive. However, Aaron's actions were detected, leading to his indictment in a Boston court. According to the prosecution, the motive behind acquiring the data was to distribute it freely on peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing platforms.
2010: SOPA
Aaron Swartz played a pivotal role in launching the online movement Demand Progress, which effectively campaigned against the SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act) proposals. These legislative measures aimed to combat internet copyright infringement but faced significant backlash. Critics argued that SOPA would have facilitated government takedowns of websites accused of copyright infringement and placed undue burdens on internet service providers. Moreover, its implementation would have compromised the free and open nature of the internet, infringing upon civil rights of freedom of expression and communication. Thanks to efforts by Aaron and others, SOPA and PIPA were ultimately thwarted, preserving the principles of a free and uncensored internet.
2013: Posthumous awards
After his passing, Aaron Swartz was honoured with several prestigious awards for his advocacy and contributions. He received the James Madison Award from the American Library Association, recognising his vocal support for public participation in government and unrestricted access to peer-reviewed scholarly articles. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) also bestowed upon him the Pioneer Award, acknowledging his significant contributions to empowering individuals in computer usage.
Additionally, Aaron was posthumously inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame, an esteemed lifetime achievement award administered by the Internet Society (ISOC), in recognition of his remarkable impact on the development and advancement of the Internet. These accolades reflect Aaron's enduring legacy and the profound influence he had in promoting open access, digital freedom, and public engagement.
