Swartz's Suicide Prompts Group to Try to Reform Computer Fraud Laws

A week after 26-year-old Highland Park native and internet activist Aaron Swartz committed suicide, his supporters and family are seeking to change the way the government prosecutes the computer crimes he was charged with.

Highland Park native Aaron Swartz, 26, was remembered this week as a brilliant, compassionate mind who inspired friends and family, as well as a victim of unfair treatment by the government. Swartz, who commited suicide Jan. 11, co-created the social news website Reddit and founded Demand Progress, an organization devoted to Internet activism and fighting expanded government oversight of the Internet, according to CNN. Demand Progress is currently looking to mobilize grassroots and political support to "end prosecutorial abuses" and "amend computer fraud law," according to a news release the group sent out earlier this week. Under Aaron's Law, disputes over "terms of service” agreements would fall under the jurisdiction of civil courts, …

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Kaitlyn Hensley

3:21 pm on Saturday, January 26, 2013

Sign this petition to make the DOJ accountable for Aaron Swartz death! https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/appoint-independent-investigator-subpoena-power-investigate-instances-doj-bullying-extorsion-and/ZrDymCLq   more ›

Patch Chatter

Do You Support Activists Pushing For An Open Web?

Internet activists such as Highland Park's Aaron Swartz and WikiLeaks' Julian Assange want information freely available on the web. Patch wants to know if you support their actions? Join the discussion in the comment section below.

As an Internet activist, Aaron Swartz fought to make information freely available on the web. The 26-year-old from Highland Park, who committed suicide on Jan. 11, founded Demand Progress, an organization devoted to Internet activism and fought expanded government oversight of the Internet. He also helped create the RSS feed and co-founded the social news website Reddit.  Similarly, Julian Assange, founder of the WikiLeaks, which publishes classified or confidential documents in the name of openness, is still pushing for more of an open web.  Patch wants to know: Do you support activists, such as Swartz and Assange, pushing to make information freely available on the web?  Both Swartz and Assange have landed in trouble with the government …

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beauregard

3:57 pm on Saturday, January 19, 2013

ITA. Assanges material public information which is legally due to u.s. citizens thru FOIA. Nobody is entitled to free merchandise (which REALLY) is what was snagged by. The kid.   more ›