The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz (2014)

1. A CO-FOUNDER OF THE SOCIAL

2. NEWS AND ENTERTAINMENT WEBSITE

3. REDDIT HAS BEEN FOUND DEAD.

4. HE CERTAINLY WAS A PRODIGY,

5. ALTHOUGH HE NEVER KIND OF

6. THOUGHT OF HIMSELF LIKE THAT.

7. HE WAS TOTALLY UNEXCITED

8. ABOUT STUDYING BUSINESSES AND

9. MAKING MONEY.

10. THERE'S A PROFOUND SENSE OF

11. LOSS TONIGHT IN HIGHLAND PARK,

12. AARON SWARTZ'S HOMETOWN, AS

13. LOVED ONES SAY GOODBYE TO ONE OF

14. THE INTERNET'S BRIGHTEST LIGHTS.

15. OPEN ACCESS AND COMPUTER

16. ACTIVISTS ARE MOURNING HIS LOSS.

17. AN ASTONISHING INTELLECT.

18. YOU TALK TO PEOPLE WHO KNEW HIM.

19. HE WAS KILLED BY THE

20. GOVERNMENT, AND MIT BETRAYED ALL

21. OF ITS BASIC PRINCIPLES.

22. THEY WANTED TO MAKE AN

23. EXAMPLE OUT OF HIM, OKAY?

24. GOVERNMENTS HAVE AN

25. INSATIABLE DESIRE TO CONTROL.

26. HE WAS POTENTIALLY FACING 35

27. YEARS IN PRISON AND A $1 MILLION

28. FINE.

29. RAISING QUESTIONS OR

30. PROSECUTORIAL ZEAL AND I WOULD

31. SAY EVEN MISCONDUCT.

32. HAVE YOU LOOKED INTO THAT

33. PARTICULAR MATTER AND REACHED

34. ANY CONCLUSIONS?

35. GROWING UP, YOU KNOW, I

36. SLOWLY HAD THIS PROCESS OF

37. REALIZING THAT ALL THE THINGS

38. AROUND ME THAT PEOPLE HAD TOLD

39. ME WERE JUST THE NATURAL WAY

40. THINGS WERE, THE WAY THINGS

41. ALWAYS WOULD BE.

42. THEY WEREN'T NATURAL AT ALL.

43. THEY WERE THINGS THAT COULD BE

44. CHANGED, AND THEY WERE THINGS

45. THAT, MORE IMPORTANTLY, WERE

46. WRONG AND SHOULD CHANGE.

47. AND ONCE I REALIZED THAT, THERE

48. WAS REALLY KIND OF NO GOING

49. BACK.

50. WELCOME TO STORY READING TIME.

51. THE NAME OF THE BOOK IS

52. "PADDINGTON AT THE FAIR."

53. WELL, HE WAS BORN IN

54. HIGHLAND PARK AND GREW UP HERE.

55. AARON CAME FROM A FAMILY OF

56. THREE BROTHERS, ALL

57. EXTRAORDINARILY BRIGHT.

58. THE BOX IS TIPPING OVER!

59. AAH!

60. SO, WE WERE ALL, YOU KNOW,

61. NOT THE BEST-BEHAVED CHILDREN,

62. AND, YOU KNOW, THREE BOYS

63. RUNNING AROUND ALL THE TIME

64. CAUSING TROUBLE.

65. HEY, NO, NO, NO.

66. AARON!

67. WHAT?

68. BUT I'VE COME TO THE

69. REALIZATION AARON LEARNED HOW TO

70. LEARN AT A VERY YOUNG AGE.

71. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,

72. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

73. KNOCK, KNOCK.

74. WHO'S THERE?

75. AARON.

76. AARON WHO?

77. AARON FUNNYMAN.

78. HE KNEW WHAT HE WANTED, AND

79. HE ALWAYS WANTED TO DO IT.

80. HE ALWAYS ACCOMPLISHED WHAT HE

81. WANTED.

82. HIS CURIOSITY WAS ENDLESS.

83. HERE'S A LITTLE PICTURE OF

84. WHAT THE PLANETS ARE.

85. AND EACH PLANET HAS A SYMBOL.

86. MERCURY'S SYMBOL, VENUS' SYMBOL,

87. EARTH'S SYMBOL, MARS' SYMBOL,

88. JUPITER'S SYMBOL...

89. ONE DAY HE SAID TO SUSAN,

90. "WHAT'S THIS FREE FAMILY

91. ENTERTAINMENT DOWNTOWN

92. HIGHLAND PARK?"

93. FREE FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT

94. DOWNTOWN HIGHLAND PARK.

95. HE WAS 3 AT THE TIME, AND SHE

96. SAID, "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING

97. ABOUT?"

98. HE SAID, "LOOK, IT SAYS HERE ON

99. THE REFRIGERATOR.

100. FREE FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT

101. DOWNTOWN HIGHLAND PARK."

102. AND SO, SHE WAS FLOORED AND

103. ASTONISHED THAT HE COULD READ.

104. IT'S CALLED

105. "MY FAMILY SEDER."

106. "THE SEDER NIGHT IS DIFFERENT

107. FROM ALL OTHER NIGHTS."

108. I REMEMBER ONCE WE WERE AT

109. THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

110. LIBRARY.

111. I PULLED A BOOK OFF THE SHELF

112. THAT WAS FROM LIKE 1900 AND

113. SHOWED HIM AND SAID, YOU KNOW,

114. "THIS IS REALLY JUST AN

115. EXTRAORDINARY PLACE."

116. WE ALL WERE CURIOUS CHILDREN,

117. BUT AARON REALLY LIKED LEARNING

118. AND REALLY LIKED TEACHING.

119. AND TODAY WE'RE GOING TO

120. LEARN THE ABCs BACKWARDS.

121. Z, Y, X, W, V, U, T...

122. I REMEMBER HE CAME HOME FROM

123. HIS FIRST ALGEBRA CLASS, AND HE

124. WAS LIKE, "NOAH, LET ME TEACH

125. YOU ALGEBRA."

126. AND I'M LIKE, "WHAT IS ALGEBRA?"

127. AND HE WAS ALWAYS LIKE THAT.

128. NOW YOU PRESS THE CLICK

129. BUTTON.

130. THERE. NOW IT'S GOT THAT.

131. NOW IT'S IN PEACE.

132. WHEN HE WAS ABOUT 2 OR 3

133. YEARS OLD AND BOB INTRODUCED HIM

134. TO COMPUTERS, THEN HE JUST TOOK

135. OFF LIKE CRAZY ON THEM.

136. GO PRESS THAT ONE TO A, B, C.

137. WE ALL HAD COMPUTERS, BUT

138. AARON REALLY TOOK TO THEM,

139. REALLY TOOK TO THE INTERNET.

140. LOOKING AT THE COMPUTER?

141. UH-HUH.

142. MOMMY, WHY IS NOTHING WORKING?

143. HE STARTED PROGRAMMING FROM A

144. REALLY YOUNG AGE.

145. I REMEMBER THE FIRST PROGRAM

146. THAT I WROTE WITH HIM WAS IN

147. BASIC, AND IT WAS A "STAR WARS"

148. TRIVIA GAME.

149. HE SAT DOWN WITH ME IN THE

150. BASEMENT WHERE THE COMPUTER WAS

151. FOR HOURS PROGRAMMING THIS GAME.

152. THE PROBLEM THAT I KEPT HAVING

153. WITH HIM IS THERE WAS NOTHING

154. THAT I WANTED DONE, AND TO HIM,

155. THERE WAS ALWAYS SOMETHING TO

156. DO, ALWAYS SOMETHING THAT

157. PROGRAMMING COULD SOLVE.

158. THE WAY AARON ALWAYS SAW IT IS

159. THAT PROGRAMMING IS MAGIC,

160. RIGHT?

161. YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH THESE THINGS

162. THAT NORMAL HUMANS CAN'T.

163. AARON MADE AN ATM USING,

164. LIKE, A MACINTOSH AND, LIKE, A

165. CARDBOARD BOX.

166. ONE YEAR FOR HALLOWEEN, I

167. DIDN'T KNOW WHAT I WANTED TO BE,

168. AND HE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE

169. REALLY, REALLY COOL IF I DRESSED

170. UP LIKE HIS NEW FAVORITE

171. COMPUTER, WHICH, AT THE TIME,

172. WAS THE ORIGINAL iMAC.

173. I MEAN, HE HATED DRESSING UP FOR

174. HALLOWEEN, BUT HE LOVED

175. CONVINCING OTHER PEOPLE TO DRESS

176. UP AS THINGS THAT HE WANTED TO

177. SEE.

178. AARON. HOST, AARON.

179. GUYS, COME ON.

180. LOOK AT THE CAMERA.

181. HE MADE THIS WEBSITE CALLED

182. "THE INFO," WHERE PEOPLE CAN

183. JUST FILL IN INFORMATION.

184. LIKE, I'M SURE SOMEONE OUT THERE

185. KNOWS ALL ABOUT GOLD, GOLD

186. LEAFING.

187. WHY DON'T THEY WRITE ABOUT THAT

188. ON THIS WEBSITE?

189. AND THEN OTHER PEOPLE COULD

190. COME AT A LATER POINT AND READ

191. THAT INFORMATION AND EDIT THE

192. INFORMATION IF THEY THOUGHT IT

193. WAS BAD, NOT TOO DISSIMILAR FROM

194. WIKIPEDIA, RIGHT?

195. AND THIS WAS BEFORE WIKIPEDIA

196. HAD BEGUN, AND THIS WAS

197. DEVELOPED BY A 12-YEAR-OLD IN

198. HIS ROOM BY HIMSELF RUNNING ON,

199. YOU KNOW, THIS TINY SERVER USING

200. ANCIENT TECHNOLOGY.

201. AND ONE OF THE TEACHERS'

202. RESPONSE LIKE, "THIS IS A

203. TERRIBLE IDEA.

204. YOU CAN'T JUST, LIKE, LET ANYONE

205. AUTHOR THE DICTI— LIKE, AUTHOR

206. THE ENCYCLOPEDIA.

207. THE WHOLE REASON WE HAVE

208. SCHOLARS IS TO WRITE THESE BOOKS

209. FOR US.

210. HOW DID YOU EVER HAVE SUCH A

211. TERRIBLE IDEA?"

212. ME AND MY OTHER BROTHER WOULD BE

213. LIKE, "OH, YOU KNOW, YEAH,

214. WIKIPEDIA'S COOL, BUT WE HAD

215. THAT IN OUR HOUSE LIKE FIVE

216. YEARS AGO."

217. AARON'S WEBSITE, theinfo.org,

218. WINS A SCHOOL COMPETITION HOSTED

219. BY THE CAMBRIDGE-BASED

220. WEB-DESIGN FIRM ArsDigita.

221. WE ALL WENT TO CAMBRIDGE WHEN

222. HE WON THE ArsDigita PRIZE.

223. AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAD NO CLUE

224. WHAT AARON WAS DOING.

225. IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT THE PRIZE

226. WAS REALLY IMPORTANT.

227. AARON SOON BECAME INVOLVED

228. WITH ONLINE PROGRAMMING

229. COMMUNITIES THEN IN THE PROCESS

230. OF SHAPING A NEW TOOL FOR THE

231. WEB.

232. HE COMES UP TO ME AND IS

233. LIKE, "BEN, THERE'S THIS REALLY

234. AWESOME THING THAT I'M WORKING

235. ON.

236. YOU NEED TO HEAR ABOUT IT."

237. I'M LIKE, "YEAH, WHAT IS IT?"

238. SAYS, "IT'S THIS THING CALLED

239. RSS."

240. AND HE EXPLAINS TO ME WHAT RSS

241. IS.

242. I'M LIKE, "WHY IS THAT USEFUL,

243. AARON?

244. LIKE, IS ANY SITE USING IT?

245. LIKE, WHY WOULD I WANT TO USE

246. IT?"

247. THERE WAS THIS MAILING LIST

248. FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE WORKING ON

249. RSS AND XML MORE GENERALLY, AND

250. THERE WAS A PERSON ON IT NAMED

251. AARON SWARTZ WHO WAS COMBATIVE

252. BUT VERY SMART AND WHO HAD LOTS

253. OF GOOD IDEAS.

254. AND HE DIDN'T EVER COME TO THE

255. FACE-TO-FACE MEETINGS, AND THEY

256. SAID, YOU KNOW, "WHEN ARE YOU

257. GONNA COME OUT TO ONE OF THESE

258. FACE-TO-FACE MEETINGS?"

259. AND HE SAID, YOU KNOW, "I DON'T

260. THINK MY MOM WOULD LET ME.

261. YOU KNOW, I JUST TURNED 14."

262. AND SO THEIR FIRST REACTION WAS,

263. WELL, YOU KNOW, "THIS PERSON,

264. THIS COLLEAGUE WE'VE BEEN

265. WORKING WITH ALL YEAR, WAS 13

266. YEARS OLD WHILE WE'RE WORKING

267. HIM, AND HE'S ONLY 14 NOW."

268. AND THEIR SECOND REACTION WAS,

269. "CHRIST, WE REALLY WANT TO MEET

270. HIM."

271. YOU KNOW, THAT'S EXTRAORDINARY.

272. HE WAS PART OF THE COMMITTEE

273. THAT DRAFTED RSS.

274. WHAT HE WAS DOING WAS TO HELP

275. BUILD THE PLUMBING FOR MODERN

276. HYPERTEXT.

277. AND THE PIECE THAT HE WAS

278. WORKING ON, RSS, WAS A TOOL THAT

279. YOU CAN USE TO GET SUMMARIES OF

280. THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON IN

281. OTHER WEB PAGES.

282. MOST COMMONLY WOULD USE THIS FOR

283. A BLOG.

284. YOU MIGHT HAVE 10 OR 20 PEOPLE'S

285. BLOGS YOU WANT TO READ.

286. YOU USE THEIR RSS FEEDS, THESE

287. SUMMARIES OF WHAT'S GOING ON, ON

288. THOSE OTHER PAGES, TO CREATE A

289. UNIFIED LIST OF ALL THE STUFF

290. THAT'S GOING ON.

291. AARON WAS REALLY YOUNG, BUT HE

292. UNDERSTOOD THE TECHNOLOGY AND HE

293. SAW THAT IT WAS IMPERFECT AND

294. LOOKED FOR WAYS TO HELP MAKE IT

295. BETTER.

296. SO, HIS MOM STARTED BUNDLING

297. HIM ON PLANES IN CHICAGO.

298. WE'D PICK HIM UP IN

299. SAN FRANCISCO.

300. WE'D INTRODUCE HIM TO

301. INTERESTING PEOPLE TO ARGUE

302. WITH.

303. AND WE'D MARVEL AT HIS HORRIFIC

304. EATING HABITS.

305. HE ONLY ATE WHITE FOOD.

306. ONLY, LIKE, YOU KNOW, STEAMED

307. RICE — NOT FRIED RICE, 'CAUSE

308. THAT WASN'T SUFFICIENTLY

309. WHITE — AND WHITE BREAD AND SO

310. ON.

311. AND, YOU KNOW, YOU KIND OF

312. MARVEL AT THE QUALITY OF THE

313. DEBATE EMERGING FROM THIS WHAT

314. APPEARED TO BE A SMALL BOY'S

315. MOUTH, AND YOU THINK, YOU KNOW,

316. "THIS IS A KID WHO'S REALLY

317. GONNA GO SOMEWHERE IF HE DOESN'T

318. DIE OF SCURVY."

319. AARON, YOU'RE UP.

320. I THINK THE DIFFERENCE IS

321. THAT NOW YOU CAN'T MAKE

322. COMPANIES, LIKE DOC WAS SAYING.

323. YOU CAN'T HAVE COMPANIES THAT

324. JUST, YOU KNOW, LET'S SELL DOG

325. FOOD OVER THE INTERNET, SELL DOG

326. FOOD OVER CELLPHONES.

327. BUT THERE'S STILL A LOT OF

328. INNOVATION GOING ON.

329. I THINK IF YOU DON'T SEE THE

330. INNOVATION, MAYBE YOUR HEAD IS

331. IN THE SAND.

332. HE TAKES ON THIS ALPHA-NERD

333. PERSONALITY WHERE HE'S SORT OF

334. LIKE, "I'M SMARTER THAN YOU.

335. AND BECAUSE I'M SMARTER THAN

336. YOU, I'M BETTER THAN YOU AND I

337. CAN TELL YOU WHAT TO DO."

338. IT'S AN EXTENSION OF, LIKE, HIM

339. BEING KIND OF LIKE A TWERP.

340. SO, YOU AGGREGATE ALL THESE

341. COMPUTERS TOGETHER, AND NOW

342. THEY'RE SOLVING BIG PROBLEMS,

343. LIKE SEARCHING FOR ALIENS OR

344. TRYING TO CURE CANCER.

345. FIRST MET HIM IN IRC —

346. INTERNET RELAY CHAT.

347. AND HE DIDN'T JUST WRITE CODE.

348. HE ALSO SORT OF GOT PEOPLE

349. EXCITED ABOUT SOLVING PROBLEMS.

350. HE WAS A CONNECTOR.

351. THE FREE CULTURE MOVEMENT HAD A

352. LOT OF HIS ENERGY.

353. I THINK AARON WAS TRYING TO MAKE

354. THE WORLD WORK.

355. HE WAS TRYING TO FIX IT.

356. HE HAD A VERY KIND OF STRONG

357. PERSONALITY THAT DEFINITELY

358. RUFFLED FEATHERS AT TIMES.

359. IT WASN'T NECESSARILY THE CASE

360. THAT HE WAS ALWAYS COMFORTABLE

361. IN THE WORLD AND THE WORLD

362. WASN'T ALWAYS COMFORTABLE WITH

363. HIM.

364. AARON GOT INTO HIGH SCHOOL

365. AND WAS REALLY JUST SICK OF

366. SCHOOL.

367. HE DIDN'T LIKE IT.

368. HE DIDN'T LIKE ANY OF THE

369. CLASSES THAT WERE BEING TAUGHT.

370. HE DIDN'T LIKE THE TEACHERS.

371. AARON REALLY KNEW, LIKE, HOW TO

372. GET INFORMATION.

373. HE WAS LIKE, "I DON'T NEED TO GO

374. TO THIS TEACHER TO LEARN HOW TO

375. DO GEOMETRY.

376. I CAN JUST READ THE GEOMETRY

377. BOOK.

378. AND I DON'T NEED TO GO TO THIS

379. TEACHER TO LEARN THEIR VERSION

380. OF AMERICAN HISTORY.

381. I HAVE, LIKE, THREE HISTORICAL

382. COMPILATIONS HERE.

383. I CAN JUST READ THEM.

384. AND I'M NOT INTERESTED IN THAT.

385. I'M INTERESTED IN THE WEB."

386. WAS VERY FRUSTRATED WITH

387. SCHOOL.

388. I THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, THE

389. TEACHERS DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THEY

390. WERE TALKING ABOUT AND THEY WERE

391. VERY DOMINEERING AND CONTROLLING

392. AND THE HOMEWORK WAS KIND OF A

393. SHAM.

394. AND IT WAS JUST, LIKE, YOU KNOW,

395. ALL A WAY TO PIN STUDENTS

396. TOGETHER AND FORCE THEM TO DO

397. BUSY WORK.

398. AND, YOU KNOW, I STARTED READING

399. BOOKS ABOUT, LIKE, THE HISTORY

400. OF EDUCATION AND HOW THIS

401. EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM WAS DEVELOPED

402. AND, YOU KNOW, ALTERNATIVES TO

403. IT AND WAYS THAT PEOPLE COULD

404. ACTUALLY LEARN THINGS AS OPPOSED

405. TO JUST REGURGITATING FACTS THAT

406. TEACHERS TOLD THEM.

407. AND THAT KIND OF LED ME DOWN

408. THIS PATH OF QUESTIONING THINGS.

409. YOU KNOW, ONCE I QUESTIONED THE

410. SCHOOL I WAS IN OR QUESTIONED

411. THE SOCIETY THAT BUILT THE

412. SCHOOL, I QUESTIONED THE

413. BUSINESSES THE SCHOOLS WERE

414. TRAINING PEOPLE FOR, AND I

415. QUESTIONED THE GOVERNMENT THAT,

416. YOU KNOW, SET UP THIS WHOLE

417. STRUCTURE.

418. ONE OF THE THINGS HE WAS MOST

419. PASSIONATE ABOUT WAS COPYRIGHT,

420. ESPECIALLY IN THOSE EARLY DAYS.

421. COPYRIGHT HAS ALWAYS BEEN

422. SOMETHING OF A BURDEN ON THE

423. PUBLISHING INDUSTRY AND ON

424. READERS, BUT IT WASN'T AN

425. EXCESSIVE BURDEN.

426. IT WAS A REASONABLE INSTITUTION

427. TO HAVE IN PLACE TO MAKE SURE

428. THAT PEOPLE GOT PAID.

429. WHAT AARON'S GENERATION

430. EXPERIENCED WAS THE COLLISION

431. BETWEEN THIS ANTIQUE COPYRIGHT

432. SYSTEM AND THIS AMAZING, NEW

433. THING WE WERE TRYING TO BUILD,

434. THE INTERNET AND THE WEB.

435. THESE THINGS COLLIDED, AND WHAT

436. WE GOT WAS CHAOS.

437. HE THEN MET HARVARD LAW

438. PROFESSOR LAWRENCE LESSIG, WHO

439. WAS THEN CHALLENGING COPYRIGHT

440. LAW IN THE SUPREME COURT.

441. A YOUNG AARON SWARTZ FLEW TO

442. WASHINGTON TO LISTEN TO THE

443. SUPREME COURT HEARINGS.

444. I AM AARON SWARTZ, AND I AM

445. HERE TO LISTEN TO THE — TO SEE

446. THE ELDRED ARGUMENT.

447. WHY DID YOU FLY OUT HERE FROM

448. CHICAGO AND COME ALL THIS WAY TO

449. SEE THE ELDRED ARGUMENT?

450. THAT'S A MORE DIFFICULT

451. QUESTION.

452. 'CAUSE I — I DON'T KNOW.

453. VERY EXCITING TO SEE THE SUPREME

454. COURT, ESPECIALLY SUCH A

455. PRESTIGIOUS CASE AS THIS ONE.

456. LESSIG WAS ALSO MOVING

457. FORWARD WITH A NEW WAY TO DEFINE

458. COPYRIGHT ON THE INTERNET.

459. IT WAS CALLED CREATIVE COMMONS.

460. SO, THE SIMPLE IDEA OF

461. CREATIVE COMMONS IS TO GIVE

462. PEOPLE CREATORS, A SIMPLE WAY TO

463. MARK THEIR CREATIVITY WITH THE

464. FREEDOMS THEY INTENDED TO CARRY.

465. SO, IF COPYRIGHT IS ALL ABOUT

467. IS A KIND OF "SOME RIGHTS

468. RESERVED."

469. I WANT A SIMPLE WAY TO SAY TO

470. YOU, "HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN DO

471. WITH MY WORK, EVEN IF THERE ARE

472. OTHER THINGS WHICH YOU NEED TO

473. GET MY PERMISSION BEFORE YOU CAN

474. DO."

475. AND AARON'S ROLE WAS THE

476. COMPUTER PART.

477. LIKE, HOW DO YOU ARCHITECT THE

478. LICENSES SO IT'LL BE SIMPLE AND

479. UNDERSTANDABLE AND EXPRESSED IN

480. A WAY THAT MACHINES COULD

481. PROCESS IT?

482. AND PEOPLE ARE LIKE, "WHY DO

483. YOU HAVE THIS, YOU KNOW,

484. 15-YEAR-OLD KID WRITING THE

485. SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE

486. CREATIVE COMMONS?

487. LIKE, DON'T YOU THINK THAT'S A

488. HUGE MISTAKE?"

489. AND LARRY'S LIKE, "THE BIGGEST

490. MISTAKE WE WOULD HAVE IS NOT

491. LISTENING TO THIS KID."

492. HE BARELY IS NOT EVEN TALL

493. ENOUGH TO GET OVER THE PODIUM,

494. AND IT WASN'T THESE MOVEABLE

495. PODIUMS.

496. IT WAS AN EMBARRASSING THING

497. WHERE ONCE HE PUT HIS SCREEN UP,

498. NOBODY COULD SEE HIS FACE.

499. WHEN YOU COME TO OUR WEBSITE

500. HERE AND YOU GO TO "CHOOSE

501. LICENSE," IT GIVES YOU THIS LIST

502. OF OPTIONS AND EXPLAINS WHAT IT

503. MEANS.

504. AND YOU FILL OUT THREE SIMPLE

505. QUESTIONS.

506. "DO YOU WANT TO REQUIRE

507. ATTRIBUTION?"

508. "DO YOU WANT TO ALLOW COMMERCIAL

509. USES OF YOUR WORK?"

510. "DO YOU WANT TO ALLOW

511. MODIFICATIONS OF YOUR WORK?"

512. I WAS FLOORED — JUST

513. COMPLETELY FLABBERGASTED — THAT

514. THESE ADULTS REGARDED HIM AS AN

515. ADULT.

516. AND AARON STOOD UP THERE IN

517. FRONT OF A WHOLE AUDIENCE FULL

518. OF PEOPLE AND JUST STARTED

519. TALKING ABOUT THE PLATFORM THAT

520. HE'D CREATED FOR

521. CREATIVE COMMONS.

522. AND THEY WERE ALL LISTENING TO

523. HIM.

524. JUST, I WAS SITTING AT THE BACK

525. THINKING, "HE'S JUST A KID.

526. WHY ARE THEY LISTENING TO HIM?"

527. BUT THEY DID.

528. WELL, I DON'T THINK I

529. COMPREHENDED IT FULLY.

530. THOUGH CRITICS HAVE SAID IT

531. DOES LITTLE TO ENSURE ARTISTS

532. GET PAID FOR THEIR WORK, THE

533. SUCCESS OF CREATIVE COMMONS HAS

534. BEEN ENORMOUS.

535. CURRENTLY ON THE WEBSITE FLICKR

536. ALONE, OVER 200 MILLION PEOPLE

537. USE SOME FORM OF

538. CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE.

539. HE CONTRIBUTED THROUGH HIS

540. TECHNICAL ABILITIES, AND YET IT

541. WAS NOT SIMPLY A TECHNICAL

542. MATTER TO HIM.

543. AARON OFTEN WROTE CANDIDLY IN

544. HIS PERSONAL BLOG.

545. "I THINK DEEPLY ABOUT THINGS,

546. AND I WANT OTHERS TO DO

547. LIKEWISE.

548. I WORK FOR IDEAS AND LEARN FROM

549. PEOPLE.

550. I DON'T LIKE EXCLUDING PEOPLE.

551. I'M A PERFECTIONIST, BUT I WON'T

552. LET THAT GET IN THE WAY OF

553. PUBLICATION.

554. EXCEPT FOR EDUCATION AND

555. ENTERTAINMENT, I'M NOT GOING TO

556. WASTE MY TIME ON THINGS THAT

557. WON'T HAVE AN IMPACT.

558. I TRY TO BE FRIENDS WITH

559. EVERYONE, BUT I HATE IT WHEN YOU

560. DON'T TAKE ME SERIOUSLY.

561. I DON'T HOLD GRUDGES.

562. IT'S NOT PRODUCTIVE.

563. BUT I LEARN FROM MY EXPERIENCE.

564. I WANT TO MAKE THE WORLD A

565. BETTER PLACE."

566. IN 2004, SWARTZ LEAVES

567. HIGHLAND PARK AND ENROLLS IN

568. STANFORD UNIVERSITY.

569. HE HAD HAD ULCERATIVE

570. COLITIS, WHICH WAS VERY

571. TROUBLING, AND WE WERE CONCERNED

572. ABOUT HIM TAKING HIS MEDICATION.

573. HE GOT HOSPITALIZED, AND HE

574. WOULD TAKE THIS COCKTAIL OF

575. PILLS EVERY DAY.

576. AND ONE OF THOSE PILLS WAS A

577. STEROID, WHICH STUNTED HIS

578. GROWTH AND MADE HIM FEEL

579. DIFFERENT FROM ANY OF THE OTHER

580. STUDENTS.

581. AARON, I THINK, SHOWS UP AT

582. STANFORD READY TO DO A

583. SCHOLARSHIP AND FINDS HIMSELF IN

584. EFFECTIVELY A BABYSITTING

585. PROGRAM FOR OVERACHIEVING

586. HIGH-SCHOOLERS WHO, IN FOUR

587. YEARS, ARE MEANT TO BECOME, YOU

588. KNOW, CAPTAINS OF INDUSTRY AND

589. ONE-PERCENTERS.

590. AND, LIKE, I THINK IT JUST MADE

591. HIM BANANAS.

592. IN 2005, AFTER ONLY ONE YEAR

593. OF COLLEGE, SWARTZ WAS OFFERED A

594. SPOT AT THE NEW START-UP

595. INCUBATION FIRM CALLED

596. Y COMBINATOR, LED BY

597. PAUL GRAHAM.

598. HE'S LIKE, "HEY, I HAVE THIS

599. IDEA FOR A WEBSITE," AND

600. PAUL GRAHAM LIKES HIM ENOUGH AND

601. SAYS, "YEAH, SURE."

602. SO AARON DROPS OUT OF SCHOOL,

603. MOVES TO THIS APARTMENT.

604. SO, THIS USED TO BE AARON'S

605. APARTMENT WHEN HE MOVED HERE.

606. I HAVE BIG MEMORIES OF MY FATHER

607. TELLING ME HOW DIFFICULT IT WAS

608. TO GET A LEASE, 'CAUSE AARON HAD

609. NO CREDIT AND HE DROPPED OUT OF

610. COLLEGE.

611. AARON LIVED IN WHAT'S NOW THE

612. LIVING ROOM, AND SOME OF THE

613. POSTERS ARE LEFT OVER FROM WHEN

614. AARON LIVED HERE.

615. AND THEN THE LIBRARY.

616. THERE ARE MORE BOOKS, BUT A LOT

617. OF THEM ARE AARON'S.

618. AARON'S Y COMBINATOR SITE WAS

619. CALLED INFOGAMI, A TOOL TO BUILD

620. WEBSITES.

621. BUT INFOGAMI STRUGGLES TO FIND

622. USERS, AND SWARTZ EVENTUALLY

623. MERGES HIS COMPANY WITH ANOTHER

624. Y COMBINATOR PROJECT IN NEED OF

625. HELP.

626. IT WAS A PROJECT HEADED BY

627. STEVE HUFFMAN AND ALEXIS OHANIAN

628. CALLED REDDIT.

629. THERE WE WERE STARTING FROM

630. ALMOST NOTHING — NO USERS, NO

631. MONEY, NO CODE — AND GROWING

632. DAY BY DAY INTO A HUGELY POPULAR

633. WEBSITE.

634. AND IT SHOWED NO SIGNS OF

635. LETTING UP.

636. FIRST WE HAD 1,000 USERS, THEN

637. 10,000, THEN 20,000, AND ON AND

638. ON.

639. IT WAS JUST INCREDIBLE.

640. REDDIT BECOMES HUGE, AND IT'S

641. A REAL SORT OF GEEKY CORNER OF

642. THE INTERNET.

643. THERE'S A LOT OF HUMOR, THERE'S

644. A LOT OF ART, AND THERE'S JUST

645. PEOPLE WHO FLOCK TO THE SITE AND

646. MAKE THAT SITE THE MAIN SITE

647. THEY GO TO EVERY MORNING TO GET

648. THEIR NEWS.

649. REDDIT KIND OF JUST BORDERS ON

650. CHAOS AT SOME LEVEL, SO ON THE

651. ONE HAND, IT'S A PLACE WHERE

652. PEOPLE DISCUSS NEWS OF THE DAY,

653. TECHNOLOGY, POLITICS, AND

654. ISSUES, AND YET THERE IS A LOT

655. OF KIND OF NOT-SAFE-FOR-WORK

656. MATERIAL, OFFENSIVE MATERIAL.

657. THERE'S SOME SUB-REDDITS WHERE

658. TROLLS FIND A WELCOME HOME.

659. AND SO, IN THAT SENSE, REDDIT

660. HAS BEEN KIND OF HOME TO

661. CONTROVERSY, AS WELL.

662. IT KIND OF SITS ON THAT EDGE OF

663. CHAOS.

664. REDDIT CATCHES THE ATTENTION

665. OF THE CORPORATE MAGAZINE GIANT

666. CONDé NAST, WHO MAKES AN OFFER

667. TO BUY THE COMPANY.

668. SOME LARGE AMOUNT OF MONEY,

669. LARGE ENOUGH THAT MY DAD WAS

670. GETTING BUGGED WITH QUESTIONS

671. ABOUT, LIKE, "HOW DO I STORE

672. THIS MONEY?"

673. LIKE, A LOT OF MONEY.

674. LIKE, A LOT OF MONEY.

675. LIKE...

676. PROBABLY MORE THAN A MILLION

677. DOLLARS, BUT I DON'T ACTUALLY

678. KNOW.

679. AND HE IS HOW OLD AT THE

680. TIME?

681. LIKE 19, 20.

682. SO, HE WAS IN THIS APARTMENT.

683. THEY, LIKE, SAT AROUND ON WHAT

684. PREDATED THESE COUCHES, HACKING

685. ON REDDIT.

686. AND WHEN THEY SOLD REDDIT, THEY

687. THREW A GIANT PARTY AND THEN ALL

688. FLEW OUT TO CALIFORNIA THE NEXT

689. DAY AND LEFT THE KEYS WITH ME.

690. IT WAS FUNNY.

691. YOU KNOW, HE JUST SOLD A

692. START-UP, SO WE ALL KIND OF

693. PRESUMED HE WAS THE RICHEST

694. PERSON AROUND, BUT HE SAID, "OH,

695. NO, I'LL TAKE THIS TINY, LITTLE

696. SHOEBOX-SIZED ROOM.

697. THAT'S ALL I NEED."

698. LIKE, IT WAS BARELY LARGER THAN

699. A CLOSET.

700. THE IDEA OF HIM SPENDING HIS

701. MONEY ON FANCY OBJECTS JUST

702. SEEMED SO IMPLAUSIBLE.

703. HE EXPLAINS, IT'S LIKE, "I

704. LIKE LIVING IN APARTMENTS, SO

705. I'M NOT GONNA SPEND A LOT OF

706. MONEY ON A NEW PLACE TO LIVE.

707. I'M NOT GONNA BUY A MANSION.

708. AND I LIKE WEARING JEANS AND A

709. T-SHIRT, SO I'M NOT GONNA SPEND

710. ANY MORE MONEY ON CLOTHES.

711. SO, LIKE, YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY

712. NO BIG DEAL."

713. WHAT IS A BIG DEAL TO SWARTZ

714. IS HOW TRAFFIC FLOWS ON THE

715. INTERNET AND WHAT COMMANDS OUR

716. ATTENTION.

717. IN THE OLD SYSTEM OF

718. BROADCASTING, YOU ARE

719. FUNDAMENTALLY LIMITED BY THE

720. AMOUNT OF SPACE IN THE AIRWAVES,

721. YOU KNOW.

722. YOU CAN ONLY SEND OUT 10

723. CHANNELS OVER THE AIRWAVES OF

724. TELEVISION, RIGHT?

725. OR EVEN WITH CABLE, YOU HAD 500

726. CHANNELS.

727. ON THE INTERNET, EVERYBODY CAN

728. HAVE A CHANNEL.

729. EVERYONE CAN GET A BLOG OR A

730. MySpace PAGE.

731. EVERYONE HAS A WAY OF EXPRESSING

732. THEMSELVES.

733. AND SO, WHAT YOU SEE NOW IS NOT

734. A QUESTION OF WHO GETS ACCESS TO

735. THE AIRWAVES.

736. IT'S A QUESTION OF WHO GETS

737. CONTROL OVER THE WAYS YOU FIND

738. PEOPLE.

739. YOU KNOW, YOU START SEEING POWER

740. CENTRALIZING ON SITES LIKE

741. GOOGLE, THESE SORT OF

742. GATEKEEPERS THAT TELL YOU WHERE

743. ON THE INTERNET YOU WANT TO GO,

744. THE PEOPLE WHO PROVIDE YOU YOUR

745. SOURCES OF NEWS AND INFORMATION.

746. SO, IT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, ONLY

747. CERTAIN PEOPLE HAVE A LICENSE TO

748. SPEAK.

749. NOW EVERYONE HAS A LICENSE TO

750. SPEAK.

751. IT'S A QUESTION OF WHO GETS

752. HEARD.

753. AFTER HE STARTED WORKING IN

754. SAN FRANCISCO AT CONDé NAST, HE

755. COMES INTO THE OFFICE, AND THEY

756. WANT TO GIVE HIM A COMPUTER WITH

757. ALL THIS CRAP INSTALLED ON IT

758. AND SAY THAT HE CAN'T INSTALL

759. ANY NEW THINGS ON HIS COMPUTER,

760. WHICH TO A DEVELOPER IS

761. OUTRAGEOUS, RIGHT?

762. FROM THE FIRST DAY, HE WAS

763. COMPLAINING ABOUT ALL THIS

764. STUFF.

765. "GRAY WALLS, GRAY DESKS, GRAY

766. NOISE.

767. THE FIRST DAY I SHOWED UP HERE,

768. I SIMPLY COULDN'T TAKE IT.

769. BY LUNCHTIME, I HAD LITERALLY

770. LOCKED MYSELF IN A BATHROOM

771. STALL AND STARTED CRYING.

772. I CAN'T IMAGINE STAYING SANE

773. WITH SOMEONE BUZZING IN MY EAR

774. ALL DAY, LET ALONE GETTING AN

775. ACTUAL WORK DONE.

776. NOBODY ELSE SEEMS TO GET WORK

777. DONE HERE, EITHER.

778. EVERYBODY'S ALWAYS COMING INTO

779. OUR ROOM TO HANG OUT AND CHAT OR

780. INVITE US TO PLAY THE NEW

781. VIDEO-GAME SYSTEM THAT WIRED IS

782. TESTING."

783. HE REALLY HAD DIFFERENT

784. ASPIRATIONS THAT WERE

785. POLITICALLY ORIENTED.

786. AND SILICON VALLEY JUST DOESN'T

787. REALLY QUITE HAVE THAT CULTURE

788. THAT ORIENTS TECHNICAL ACTIVITY

789. FOR THE PURPOSES OF POLITICAL

790. GOALS.

791. AARON HATED WORKING FOR A

792. CORPORATION.

793. THEY ALL HATE WORKING FOR

794. CONDé NAST, BUT AARON IS, LIKE,

795. THE ONLY ONE WHO'S NOT GONNA

796. TAKE IT.

797. AND AARON BASICALLY GETS HIMSELF

798. FIRED BY NOT SHOWING UP TO WORK

799. EVER.

800. IT WAS SAID TO BE A MESSY

801. BREAKUP.

802. BOTH ALEXIS OHANIAN AND

803. STEVE HUFFMAN DECLINED TO BE

804. INTERVIEWED FOR THIS FILM.

805. HE REJECTED THE BUSINESS

806. WORLD.

807. ONE OF THE REALLY IMPORTANT

808. THINGS TO REMEMBER ABOUT THAT

809. CHOICE WHEN AARON DECIDED TO

810. KIND OF LEAVE START-UP CULTURE

811. IS THAT HE WAS ALSO LEAVING

812. BEHIND THE THINGS THAT HAD MADE

813. HIM FAMOUS AND WELL-LOVED.

814. AND, YOU KNOW, HE WAS AT RISK OF

815. LETTING DOWN FANS.

816. HE GOT TO WHERE HE WAS

817. SUPPOSED TO BE GOING AND HAD THE

818. SELF-AWARENESS AND THE

819. ORNERINESS TO REALIZE THAT HE

820. HAD CLIMBED THE MOUNTAIN OF SHIT

821. TO PLUCK THE SINGLE ROSE AND

822. DISCOVERED THAT HE'D LOST HIS

823. SENSE OF SMELL.

824. AND RATHER THAN SIT THERE AND

825. INSIST THAT IT WASN'T AS BAD AS

826. IT SEEMED AND HE DID GET THE

827. ROSE IN ANY EVENT, HE CLIMBED

828. BACK DOWN AGAIN, WHICH IS PRETTY

829. COOL.

830. THE WAY AARON ALWAYS SAW IT

831. IS THAT PROGRAMMING IS MAGIC,

832. RIGHT?

833. YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH THESE THINGS

834. THAT NORMAL HUMANS CAN'T BY

835. BEING ABLE TO PROGRAM.

836. SO, IF YOU HAD MAGICAL POWERS,

837. WOULD YOU USE THEM FOR GOOD OR

838. TO MAKE YOU MOUNTAINS OF CASH?

839. SWARTZ WAS INSPIRED BY ONE OF

840. THE VISIONARIES HE HAD MET AS A

841. CHILD, THE MAN WHO HAD INVENTED

842. THE WORLD WIDE WEB,

843. TIM BERNERS-LEE.

844. IN THE 1990s, BERNERS-LEE WAS

845. ARGUABLY SITTING ON ONE OF THE

846. MOST LUCRATIVE INVENTIONS OF THE

847. 20th CENTURY, BUT INSTEAD OF

848. PROFITING FROM THE INVENTION OF

849. THE WORLD WIDE WEB, HE GAVE IT

850. AWAY FOR FREE.

851. IT IS THE ONLY REASON THE WORLD

852. WIDE WEB EXISTS TODAY.

853. AARON IS CERTAINLY DEEPLY

854. INFLUENCED BY TIM.

855. TIM IS CERTAINLY A VERY

856. PROMINENT EARLY INTERNET GENIUS

857. WHO DOESN'T IN ANY SENSE CASH

858. OUT.

859. HE'S NOT AT ALL INTERESTED IN

860. HOW HE'S GOING TO FIGURE OUT HOW

861. TO MAKE A BILLION DOLLARS.

862. PEOPLE WOULD HAVE SEEN, AH,

863. THERE'S MONEY TO BE MADE THERE.

864. THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN LOTS OF

865. LITTLE WEBS INSTEAD OF ONE BIG

866. ONE.

867. AND ONE LITTLE WEB AND LOTS OF

868. LITTLE WEBS DOESN'T WORK,

869. BECAUSE YOU CAN'T FOLLOW LINKS

870. FROM ONE TO THE OTHER.

871. NO, YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE

872. CRITICAL MASS FOR THIS THING

873. WITH THE ENTIRE PLANET.

874. SO, IT'S NOT GONNA WORK UNLESS

875. THE WHOLE PLANET CAN GET ON

876. BOARD.

877. I MEAN, I, YOU KNOW, FEEL

878. VERY STRONGLY THAT IT'S NOT

879. ENOUGH TO JUST LIVE IN THE WORLD

880. AS IT IS, TO JUST KIND OF TAKE

881. WHAT YOU'RE GIVEN AND, YOU KNOW,

882. FOLLOW THE THINGS THAT ADULTS

883. TOLD YOU TO DO AND THAT, YOU

884. KNOW, YOUR PARENTS TOLD YOU TO

885. DO AND THAT SOCIETY TELLS YOU TO

886. DO.

887. I THINK YOU SHOULD ALWAYS BE

888. QUESTIONING.

889. YOU KNOW, I TAKE THIS VERY

890. SCIENTIFIC ATTITUDE THAT

891. EVERYTHING YOU'VE LEARNED IS

892. JUST PROVISIONAL, THAT, YOU

893. KNOW, IT'S ALWAYS OPEN TO

894. RECANTATION OR REFUTATION OR

895. QUESTIONING.

896. AND I THINK THE SAME APPLIES TO

897. SOCIETY.

898. ONCE I REALIZED THAT THERE WERE

899. REAL, SERIOUS PROBLEMS,

900. FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS, THAT I

901. COULD DO SOMETHING TO ADDRESS, I

902. DIDN'T SEE A WAY TO FORGET THAT.

903. I DIDN'T SEE A WAY NOT TO.

904. WE JUST STARTED SPENDING A

905. LOT OF TIME JUST KIND OF AS

906. FRIENDS.

907. WE WOULD JUST TALK FOR HOURS

908. INTO THE NIGHT.

909. I DEFINITELY SHOULD HAVE

910. UNDERSTOOD THAT HE WAS FLIRTING

911. WITH ME.

912. I THINK TO SOME DEGREE, I WAS

913. LIKE, "THIS IS A TERRIBLE IDEA

914. AND IMPOSSIBLE, AND THEREFORE I

915. WILL PRETEND IT IS NOT

916. HAPPENING."

917. AS MY MARRIAGE WAS BREAKING DOWN

918. AND I WAS REALLY STUCK WITH NOT

919. ANYWHERE TO GO, WE BECAME

920. ROOMMATES AND BROUGHT MY

921. DAUGHTER OVER.

922. WE MOVED IN AND FURNISHED THE

923. HOUSE, AND IT WAS REALLY

924. PEACEFUL.

925. MY LIFE HAD NOT BEEN PEACEFUL

926. FOR A WHILE, AND REALLY NEITHER

927. HAD HIS.

928. WE WERE EXTREMELY CLOSE FROM THE

929. BEGINNING OF OUR ROMANTIC

930. RELATIONSHIP.

931. WE JUST — WE WERE IN CONSTANT

932. CONTACT.

933. BUT WE'RE BOTH REALLY DIFFICULT

934. PEOPLE TO DEAL WITH.

935. IN A VERY ALLY McBEAL

936. DISCUSSION, HE CONFESSED HE HAD

937. A THEME SONG, AND I MADE HIM

938. PLAY IT FOR ME.

939. IT WAS "EXTRAORDINARY MACHINE"

940. BY FIONA APPLE.

941. I THINK IT WAS JUST THAT SENSE

942. OF KIND OF BEING A LITTLE BIT

943. EMBATTLED THAT THE SONG HAS.

944. AND IT ALSO HAD, LIKE, THIS

945. HOPEFULNESS TO IT.

946. IN MANY WAYS, AARON WAS

947. TREMENDOUSLY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT

948. LIFE.

949. EVEN WHEN HE DIDN'T FEEL IT, HE

950. COULD BE TREMENDOUSLY OPTIMISTIC

951. ABOUT LIFE.

952. WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

953. FLICKR HAS VIDEO NOW.

954. SWARTZ THREW HIS ENERGY INTO

955. A STRING OF NEW PROJECTS

956. INVOLVING ACCESS TO PUBLIC

957. INFORMATION, INCLUDING AN

958. ACCOUNTABILITY WEBSITE CALLED

959. CALLED THE OPEN LIBRARY.

960. THE OPEN LIBRARY PROJECT IS A

961. WEBSITE YOU CAN VISIT AT

962. openlibrary.org, AND THE IDEA IS

963. TO BE A HUGE WIKI, AN EDITABLE

964. WEBSITE WITH ONE PAGE PER BOOK.

965. SO, FOR EVERY BOOK EVER

966. PUBLISHED, WE WANT TO HAVE A WEB

967. PAGE ABOUT IT THAT COMBINES ALL

968. THE INFORMATION FROM PUBLISHERS,

969. FROM BOOK SELLERS, FROM

970. LIBRARIES, FROM READERS ON TO

971. ONE SITE AND THEN GIVES YOU

972. LINKS WHERE YOU CAN BUY IT, YOU

973. CAN BORROW IT, OR YOU CAN BROWSE

974. IT.

975. I LOVE LIBRARIES.

976. YOU KNOW, I'M THE KIND OF PERSON

977. WHO GOES TO A NEW CITY AND

978. IMMEDIATELY SEEKS OUT THE

979. LIBRARY.

980. THAT'S THE DREAM OF OPEN LIBRARY

981. IS BUILDING THIS WEBSITE WHERE

982. BOTH YOU CAN LEAP FROM BOOK TO

983. BOOK, FROM PERSON TO AUTHOR,

984. FROM SUBJECT TO IDEA, GO THROUGH

985. THIS VAST TREE OF KNOWLEDGE

986. THAT'S BEEN IMBEDDED AND LOST IN

987. BIG PHYSICAL LIBRARIES, THAT'S

988. HARD TO FIND, THAT'S NOT VERY

989. WELL-ACCESSIBLE ONLINE.

990. IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE

991. BOOKS ARE OUR CULTURAL LEGACY.

992. YOU KNOW, BOOKS ARE THE PLACE

993. PEOPLE GO TO WRITE THINGS DOWN.

994. AND TO HAVE ALL THAT SWALLOWED

995. UP BY ONE CORPORATION IS KIND OF

996. SCARY.

997. HOW CAN YOU BRING PUBLIC

998. ACCESS TO THE PUBLIC DOMAIN?

999. IT MAY SOUND OBVIOUS THAT YOU'D

1000. HAVE PUBLIC ACCESS TO PUBLIC

1001. DOMAIN, BUT THE FACT IT'S NOT

1002. TRUE.

1003. SO THE PUBLIC DOMAIN SHOULD BE

1004. FREE TO ALL, BUT IT'S OFTEN

1005. LOCKED UP.

1006. IT IS OFTEN, YOU KNOW, GUARD

1007. CAGES.

1008. IT'S LIKE HAVING A NATIONAL PARK

1009. BUT WITH A MOAT AROUND IT AND

1010. GUN TURRETS POINTED OUT IN CASE

1011. SOMEBODY MIGHT WANT TO ACTUALLY

1012. COME AND ENJOY THE PUBLIC

1013. DOMAIN.

1014. ONE OF THE THINGS AARON WAS

1015. PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN IS

1016. BRINGING PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE

1017. PUBLIC DOMAIN.

1018. IT IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT GOT

1019. HIM INTO SO MUCH TROUBLE.

1020. I HAD BEEN TRYING TO GET

1021. ACCESS TO FEDERAL COURT RECORDS

1022. IN THE UNITED STATES.

1023. WHAT I DISCOVERED WAS A PUZZLING

1024. SYSTEM CALLED PACER, WHICH

1025. STANDS FOR "PUBLIC ACCESS TO

1026. COURT ELECTRONIC RECORDS."

1027. I STARTED GOOGLING, AND THAT'S

1028. WHEN I RAN ACROSS CARL MALAMUD.

1029. ACCESS TO LEGAL MATERIALS IN

1030. THE UNITED STATES IS A

1031. $10 BILLION-PER-YEAR BUSINESS.

1032. PACER IS JUST THIS INCREDIBLE

1033. ABOMINATION OF GOVERNMENT

1034. SERVICE.

1035. IT'S 10 CENTS A PAGE.

1036. IT'S THIS MOST BRAIN-DEAD CODE

1037. YOU'VE EVER SEEN.

1038. YOU CAN'T SEARCH IT.

1039. YOU CAN'T BOOKMARK ANYTHING.

1040. YOU GOT TO HAVE A CREDIT CARD.

1041. AND THESE ARE PUBLIC RECORDS.

1042. YOU KNOW, U.S. DISTRICT COURTS

1043. ARE VERY IMPORTANT.

1044. IT'S WHERE A LOT OF OUR SEMINAL

1045. LITIGATION STARTS.

1046. YOU KNOW, CIVIL-RIGHTS CASES,

1047. PATENT CASES, ALL SORTS OF

1048. STUFF.

1049. AND JOURNALISTS AND STUDENTS AND

1050. CITIZENS AND LAWYERS ALL NEED

1051. ACCESS TO PACER, AND IT FIGHTS

1052. THEM EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.

1053. PEOPLE WITHOUT MEANS CAN'T SEE

1054. THE LAW AS READILY AS PEOPLE

1055. THAT HAVE THAT GOLD

1056. AMERICAN EXPRESS CARD.

1057. IT'S A POLL TAX ON ACCESS TO

1058. JUSTICE.

1059. YOU KNOW, THE LAW IS THE

1060. OPERATING SYSTEM OF OUR

1061. DEMOCRACY, AND YOU HAVE TO PAY

1062. TO SEE IT?

1063. YOU KNOW, THAT'S NOT MUCH OF A

1064. DEMOCRACY.

1065. THEY MAKE ABOUT $120 MILLION

1066. A YEAR ON THE PACER SYSTEM, AND

1067. IT DOESN'T COST ANYTHING NEAR

1068. THAT, ACCORDING TO THEIR OWN

1069. RECORDS.

1070. IN FACT, IT'S ILLEGAL.

1071. THE E-GOVERNMENT ACT OF 2002

1072. STATES THAT THE COURTS MAY

1073. CHARGE ONLY TO THE EXTENT

1074. NECESSARY IN ORDER TO REIMBURSE

1075. THE COSTS OF RUNNING PACER.

1076. AS THE FOUNDER OF

1077. public.resource.org, MALAMUD

1078. WANTED TO PROTEST THE PACER

1079. CHARGES.

1080. HE STARTED A PROGRAM CALLED

1081. THE PACER RECYCLING PROJECT,

1082. WHERE PEOPLE COULD UPLOAD PACER

1083. DOCUMENTS THEY HAD ALREADY PAID

1084. FOR TO A FREE DATABASE SO OTHERS

1085. COULD USE THEM.

1086. THE PACER PEOPLE WERE GETTING

1087. A LOT OF FLAK FROM CONGRESS AND

1088. OTHERS ABOUT PUBLIC ACCESS.

1089. AND SO, THEY PUT TOGETHER THIS

1090. SYSTEM.

1091. IN 17 LIBRARIES ACROSS THE

1092. COUNTRY, THERE WAS FREE PACER

1093. ACCESS.

1094. YOU KNOW, THAT'S ONE LIBRARY

1095. EVERY 22,000 SQUARE MILES, I

1096. BELIEVE, SO IT WASN'T, LIKE,

1097. REALLY CONVENIENT.

1098. I ENCOURAGE VOLUNTEERS TO JOIN A

1099. SO-CALLED THUMB DRIVE CORPS AND

1100. DOWNLOAD DOCS FROM THE

1101. PUBLIC-ACCESS LIBRARIES, UPLOAD

1102. THEM TO THE PACER RECYCLING

1103. SITE.

1104. PEOPLE TAKE A THUMB DRIVE INTO

1105. ONE OF THESE LIBRARIES AND THEY

1106. DOWNLOAD A BUNCH OF DOCUMENTS

1107. AND THEY SEND THEM TO ME.

1108. AND, I MEAN, IT WAS JUST A JOKE.

1109. IN FACT, WHEN YOU CLICKED ON

1110. THUMB DRIVE CORPS, THERE WAS A

1111. "WIZARD OF OZ," YOU KNOW, THE

1112. MUNCHKINS SINGING.

1113. SO, THE VIDEO CLIP CAME UP.

1114. BUT, OF COURSE, I GET THIS

1115. PHONE CALL FROM STEVE SHULTZE

1116. AND AARON SAYING, "GEE, WE'D

1117. LIKE TO JOIN THE

1118. THUMB DRIVE CORPS."

1119. AROUND THAT TIME, I RAN INTO

1120. AARON AT A CONFERENCE.

1121. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT REALLY

1122. HAS TO BE A COLLABORATION

1123. BETWEEN A LOT OF DIFFERENT

1124. PEOPLE.

1125. SO, I APPROACHED HIM, AND I

1126. SAID, "HEY, I'M THINKING ABOUT

1127. AN INTERVENTION ON THE PACER

1128. PROBLEM."

1129. SHULTZE HAD ALREADY DEVELOPED

1130. A PROGRAM THAT COULD

1131. AUTOMATICALLY DOWNLOAD PACER

1132. DOCUMENTS FROM THE TRIAL

1133. LIBRARIES.

1134. SWARTZ WANTED TO TAKE A LOOK.

1135. SO, I SHOWED HIM THE CODE,

1136. AND I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WOULD

1137. COME NEXT, BUT AS IT TURNS OUT,

1138. OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT FEW

1139. HOURS AT THAT CONFERENCE, HE WAS

1140. OFF SITTING IN A CORNER

1141. IMPROVING MY CODE, RECRUITING A

1142. FRIEND OF HIS THAT LIVED NEAR

1143. ONE OF THESE LIBRARIES TO GO

1144. INTO THE LIBRARY AND TO BEGIN TO

1145. TEST HIS IMPROVED CODE, AT WHICH

1146. POINT THE FOLKS AT THE COURTS

1147. REALIZED SOMETHING'S NOT GOING

1148. QUITE ACCORDING TO PLAN.

1149. AND DATA STARTED TO COME IN

1150. AND COME IN AND COME IN, AND

1151. SOON THERE WERE 760 GIGABYTES OF

1152. PACER DOCS — ABOUT 20 MILLION

1153. PAGES.

1154. USING INFORMATION RETRIEVED

1155. FROM THE TRIAL LIBRARIES, SWARTZ

1156. WAS CONDUCTING MASSIVE AUTOMATED

1157. PARALLEL DOWNLOADING OF THE

1158. PACER SYSTEM.

1159. HE WAS ABLE TO ACQUIRE NEARLY

1160. 2.7 MILLION FEDERAL COURT

1161. DOCUMENTS — ALMOST 20 MILLION

1162. PAGES OF TEXT.

1163. NOW, I'LL GRANT YOU THAT

1164. 20 MILLION PAGES HAD PERHAPS

1165. EXCEEDED THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE

1166. PEOPLE RUNNING THE PILOT ACCESS

1167. PROJECT, BUT SURPRISING A

1168. BUREAUCRAT ISN'T ILLEGAL.

1169. AARON AND CARL DECIDED TO GO

1170. TALK TO THE NEW YORK TIMES ABOUT

1171. WHAT HAPPENED.

1172. THEY ALSO CAUGHT THE

1173. ATTENTION OF THE FBI, WHO BEGAN

1174. TO STAKE OUT SWARTZ'S PARENTS'

1175. HOUSE IN ILLINOIS.

1176. BUT I GET A TWEET FROM HIS

1177. MOTHER SAYING, "CALL ME!"

1178. SO I'M LIKE, "WHAT THE HELL'S

1179. GOING ON HERE?"

1180. AND SO, I FINALLY GOT AHOLD OF

1181. AARON, AND, YOU KNOW, AARON'S

1182. MOTHER WAS LIKE, "OH, MY GOD,

1183. FBI, FBI, FBI."

1184. AN FBI AGENT DRIVES DOWN OUR

1185. HOME'S DRIVEWAY TRYING TO SEE IF

1186. AARON IS, LIKE, IN HIS ROOM.

1187. AND I REMEMBER BEING HOME THAT

1188. DAY AND WONDERING WHY THIS CAR

1189. WAS DRIVING DOWN OUR DRIVEWAY

1190. AND JUST DRIVING BACK OUT.

1191. LIKE, "THAT'S WEIRD."

1192. LIKE, FIVE YEARS LATER, I GET

1193. THIS FBI FILE, AND I'M LIKE,

1194. "OH, MY GOODNESS.

1195. THAT WAS THE FBI AGENT IN MY

1196. DRIVEWAY."

1197. HE WAS TERRIFIED.

1198. HE WAS TOTALLY TERRIFIED.

1199. HE WAS WAY MORE TERRIFIED AFTER

1200. THE FBI ACTUALLY CALLED HIM UP

1201. ON THE PHONE AND TRIED TO SUCKER

1202. HIM INTO COMING DOWN TO A COFFEE

1203. SHOP WITHOUT A LAWYER.

1204. HE SAID HE WENT HOME AND LAID

1205. DOWN ON THE BED AND, YOU KNOW,

1206. WAS SHAKING.

1207. THE DOWNLOADING ALSO

1208. UNCOVERED MASSIVE PRIVACY

1209. VIOLATIONS IN THE COURT

1210. DOCUMENTS.

1211. ULTIMATELY, THE COURTS WERE

1212. FORCED TO CHANGE THEIR POLICIES

1213. AS A RESULT.

1214. AND THE FBI CLOSED THEIR

1215. INVESTIGATION WITHOUT BRINGING

1216. CHARGES.

1217. TO THIS DAY, I FIND IT

1218. REMARKABLE THAT ANYBODY EVEN AT

1219. THE MOST REMOTE PODUNK FIELD

1220. OFFICE OF THE FBI THOUGHT THAT A

1221. FITTING USE FOR TAXPAYER DOLLARS

1222. WAS INVESTIGATING PEOPLE FOR

1223. CRIMINAL THEFT ON THE GROUNDS

1224. THAT THEY HAD MADE THE LAW

1225. PUBLIC.

1226. HOW CAN YOU CALL YOURSELF A

1227. LAWMAN AND THINK THAT THERE

1228. COULD POSSIBLY BE ANYTHING WRONG

1229. IN THIS WHOLE WORLD WITH MAKING

1230. THE LAW PUBLIC?

1231. AARON WAS WILLING TO PUT

1232. HIMSELF AT RISK FOR THE CAUSES

1233. THAT HE BELIEVED IN.

1234. BOTHERED BY WEALTH DISPARITY,

1235. SWARTZ MOVES BEYOND TECHNOLOGY

1236. AND INTO A BROADER RANGE OF

1237. POLITICAL CAUSES.

1238. I WENT INTO CONGRESS, AND I

1239. INVITED HIM TO COME AND HANG OUT

1240. AND INTERN FOR US FOR A WHILE SO

1241. THAT HE COULD LEARN, YOU KNOW,

1242. THE POLITICAL PROCESS.

1243. HE WAS SORT OF LEARNING A NEW

1244. COMMUNITY, A NEW SET OF SKILLS

1245. AND KIND OF LEARNING TO HACK

1246. POLITICS.

1247. IT SEEMS RIDICULOUS THAT

1248. MINERS SHOULD HAVE TO HAMMER

1249. AWAY UNTIL THEIR WHOLE BODIES

1250. ARE DRIPPING WITH SWEAT, FACED

1251. WITH THE KNOWLEDGE THAT IF THEY

1252. DARE TO STOP, THEY WON'T BE ABLE

1253. TO PUT FOOD ON THE TABLE THAT

1254. NIGHT WHILE I GET TO MAKE LARGER

1255. AND LARGER AMOUNTS OF MONEY EACH

1256. DAY JUST BY SITTING AND WATCHING

1257. TV.

1258. BUT APPARENTLY THE WORLD IS

1259. RIDICULOUS.

1260. SO, I CO-FOUNDED A GROUP CALLED

1261. THE PROGRESSIVE CHANGE CAMPAIGN

1262. COMMITTEE, AND WHAT WE TRY AND

1263. DO IS WE TRY AND ORGANIZE PEOPLE

1264. OVER THE INTERNET WHO CARE ABOUT

1265. PROGRESSIVE POLITICS AND MOVING

1266. THE COUNTRY IN A MORE

1267. PROGRESSIVE DIRECTION TO KIND OF

1268. COME TOGETHER, JOIN OUR E-MAIL

1269. LIST, JOIN OUR CAMPAIGNS, AND

1270. HELP GET PROGRESSIVE CANDIDATES

1271. ELECTED ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

1272. THE GROUP IS RESPONSIBLE FOR

1273. IGNITING THE GRASSROOTS EFFORT

1274. BEHIND THE CAMPAIGN TO ELECT

1275. ELIZABETH WARREN TO THE SENATE.

1276. HE MIGHT HAVE THOUGHT IT WAS

1277. A DUMB SYSTEM, BUT HE CAME IN

1278. AND HE SAID, "I NEED TO LEARN

1279. THIS SYSTEM, 'CAUSE IT CAN BE

1280. MANIPULATED LIKE ANY SOCIAL

1281. SYSTEM."

1282. BUT HIS PASSION FOR KNOWLEDGE

1283. IN LIBRARIES DIDN'T TAKE A BACK

1284. SEAT.

1285. AARON BEGAN TO TAKE A CLOSER

1286. LOOK AT INSTITUTIONS THAT

1287. PUBLISH ACADEMIC-JOURNAL

1288. ARTICLES.

1289. BY VIRTUE OF BEING STUDENTS

1290. AT A MAJOR U.S. UNIVERSITY, I

1291. ASSUME THAT YOU HAVE ACCESS TO A

1292. WIDE VARIETY OF SCHOLARLY

1293. JOURNALS.

1294. PRETTY MUCH EVERY MAJOR

1295. UNIVERSITY IN THE UNITED STATES

1296. PAYS THESE SORT OF LICENSING

1297. FEES TO ORGANIZATIONS LIKE JSTOR

1298. AND THOMSON ISI TO GET ACCESS TO

1299. SCHOLARLY JOURNALS THAT THE REST

1300. OF THE WORLD CAN'T READ.

1301. THESE SCHOLARLY JOURNALS AND

1302. ARTICLES ARE ESSENTIALLY THE

1303. ENTIRE WEALTH OF HUMAN KNOWLEDGE

1304. ONLINE, AND MANY HAVE BEEN PAID

1305. FOR WITH TAXPAYER MONEY OR WITH

1306. GOVERNMENT GRANTS.

1307. BUT TO READ THEM, YOU OFTEN HAVE

1308. TO PAY AGAIN, HANDING OVER STEEP

1309. FEES TO PUBLISHERS LIKE

1310. REED ELSEVIER.

1311. THESE LICENSING FEES ARE SO

1312. SUBSTANTIAL THAT PEOPLE WHO ARE

1313. STUDYING IN INDIA INSTEAD OF

1314. STUDYING IN THE UNITED STATES

1315. DON'T HAVE THIS KIND OF ACCESS.

1316. THEY'RE LOCKED OUT FROM ALL OF

1317. THESE JOURNALS.

1318. THEY'RE LOCKED OUT FROM OUR

1319. ENTIRE SCIENTIFIC LEGACY.

1320. I MEAN, A LOT OF THESE JOURNAL

1321. ARTICLES, THEY GO BACK TO THE

1322. ENLIGHTENMENT.

1323. EVERY TIME SOMEONE HAS WRITTEN

1324. DOWN A SCIENTIFIC PAPER, IT'S

1325. BEEN SCANNED, DIGITIZED, AND PUT

1326. IN THESE COLLECTIONS.

1327. THAT IS A LEGACY THAT HAS BEEN

1328. BROUGHT TO US BY THE HISTORY OF

1329. PEOPLE DOING INTERESTING WORK,

1330. THE HISTORY OF SCIENTISTS.

1331. IT'S A LEGACY THAT SHOULD BELONG

1332. TO US AS A COMMONS, AS A PEOPLE.

1333. BUT INSTEAD, IT'S BEEN LOCKED UP

1334. AND PUT ONLINE BY A HANDFUL OF

1335. FOR-PROFIT CORPORATIONS WHO THEN

1336. TRY AND GET THE MAXIMUM PROFIT

1337. THEY CAN OUT OF IT.

1338. SO, A RESEARCHER PAID BY

1339. UNIVERSITY OR THE PEOPLE

1340. PUBLISHES A PAPER, AND IN THE

1341. VERY, VERY LAST STEP OF THAT

1342. PROCESS, AFTER ALL THE WORK IS

1343. DONE — AFTER ALL THE ORIGINAL

1344. RESEARCH IS DONE, THE THINKING,

1345. THE LAB WORK, THE ANALYSIS —

1346. AFTER EVERYTHING IS DONE AT THAT

1347. LAST STAGE, THEN THE RESEARCHER

1348. HAS TO HAND OVER HIS OR HER

1349. COPYRIGHT TO THIS

1350. MULTI-BILLION-DOLLAR COMPANY.

1351. AND IT'S SICK.

1352. IT'S AN ENTIRE ECONOMY BUILT ON

1353. VOLUNTEER LABOR, AND THEN THE

1354. PUBLISHERS SIT AT THE VERY TOP

1355. AND SCRAPE OFF THE CREAM.

1356. TALK ABOUT A SCAM.

1357. ONE PUBLISHER IN BRITAIN MADE A

1358. PROFIT OF $3 BILLION LAST YEAR.

1359. I MEAN, WHAT A RACKET.

1360. JSTOR IS JUST A VERY, VERY

1361. SMALL PLAYER IN THAT STORY, BUT

1362. FOR SOME REASON, JSTOR IS THE

1363. PLAYER THAT AARON DECIDED TO

1364. CONFRONT.

1365. HE'D GONE TO SOME CONFERENCE

1366. AROUND OPEN ACCESS AND OPEN

1367. PUBLISHING, AND I DON'T KNOW WHO

1368. THE PERSON FROM JSTOR WAS, BUT I

1369. THINK AT SOME POINT, AARON ASKED

1370. THE QUESTION LIKE, "HOW MUCH

1371. WOULD IT COST TO OPEN UP JSTOR

1372. IN PERPETUITY?

1373. AND THEY GAVE SOME — I THINK IT

1374. WAS $200 MILLION, SOMETHING THAT

1375. AARON THOUGHT WAS TOTALLY

1376. RIDICULOUS.

1377. WORKING ON A FELLOWSHIP AT

1378. HARVARD, HE KNEW USERS ON MIT's

1379. FAMOUSLY OPEN AND FAST NETWORK,

1380. NEXTDOOR, HAD AUTHORIZED ACCESS

1381. TO THE RICHES OF JSTOR.

1382. SWARTZ SAW AN OPPORTUNITY.

1383. YOU HAVE A KEY TO THOSE

1384. GATES.

1385. AND WITH A LITTLE BIT OF

1386. SHELL-SCRIPT MAGIC, YOU CAN GET

1387. THOSE JOURNAL ARTICLES.

1388. ON SEPTEMBER 24, 2010, SWARTZ

1389. REGISTERED A NEWLY PURCHASED

1390. ACER LAPTOP ON THE MIT NETWORK

1391. UNDER THE NAME GARY HOST.

1392. THE CLIENT NAME WAS REGISTERED

1393. AS GHOST LAPTOP.

1394. HE DOESN'T HACK JSTOR IN THE

1395. TRADITIONAL SENSE OF HACKING.

1396. THE JSTOR DATABASE WAS

1397. ORGANIZED, SO IT WAS COMPLETELY

1398. TRIVIAL TO FIGURE OUT HOW YOU

1399. COULD DOWNLOAD ALL THE ARTICLES

1400. ON JSTOR, 'CAUSE IT WAS

1401. BASICALLY NUMBERED.

1402. IT WAS BASICALLY, YOU KNOW,

1403. SLASH-SLASH-SLASH NUMBER ARTICLE

1404. 444,024 THEN 25 THEN 26.

1405. HE WROTE A PYTHON SCRIPT

1406. CALLED keepgrabbing.py, WHICH

1407. WAS KEEP GRABBING ONE ARTICLE

1408. AFTER ANOTHER.

1409. THE NEXT DAY, GHOST LAPTOP

1410. BEGINS GRABBING ARTICLES, BUT

1411. SOON, THE COMPUTER'S I.P.

1412. ADDRESS IS BLOCKED.

1413. FOR SWARTZ, IT'S BARELY A BUMP

1414. IN THE ROAD.

1415. HE QUICKLY REASSIGNS HIS

1416. COMPUTER'S I.P. ADDRESS AND

1417. KEEPS DOWNLOADING.

1418. WELL, JSTOR AND MIT TAKE A

1419. NUMBER OF STEPS TO TRY AND

1420. INTERFERE WITH THIS WHEN THEY

1421. NOTICE THAT THIS IS HAPPENING,

1422. AND WHEN THE MORE MODEST STEPS

1423. DON'T WORK, THEN AT A CERTAIN

1424. STAGE, JSTOR JUST CUTS OFF MIT

1425. FROM HAVING ACCESS TO THE JSTOR

1426. DATABASE.

1427. SO, THERE'S THIS KIND OF

1428. CAT-AND-MOUSE GAME AROUND

1429. GETTING ACCESS TO THAT JSTOR

1430. DATABASE.

1431. AARON ULTIMATELY OBVIOUSLY IS

1432. THE CAT, BECAUSE HE HAS MORE

1433. TECHNICAL CAPABILITY THAN THE

1434. JSTOR DATABASE PEOPLE DO IN

1435. DEFENDING THEM.

1436. EVENTUALLY, THERE WAS AN

1437. UNLOCKED SUPPLY CLOSET IN THE

1438. BASEMENT OF ONE OF THE

1439. BUILDINGS, AND INSTEAD OF GOING

1440. THROUGH WI-FI, HE WENT DOWN AND

1441. HE JUST PLUGGED THIS COMPUTER

1442. DIRECTLY INTO THE NETWORK AND

1443. JUST LEFT IT THERE WITH AN

1444. EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE DOWNLOADING

1445. THESE ARTICLES TO THE COMPUTER.

1446. UNKNOWN TO SWARTZ, HIS LAPTOP

1447. AND HARD DRIVE HAD BEEN FOUND BY

1448. AUTHORITIES.

1449. THEY DIDN'T STOP THE DOWNLOADS.

1450. INSTEAD, THEY INSTALLED A

1451. SURVEILLANCE CAMERA.

1452. THEY FOUND THE COMPUTER IN

1453. THIS ROOM IN THE BASEMENT OF AN

1454. MIT BUILDING.

1455. THEY COULD HAVE UNPLUGGED IT.

1456. THEY COULD HAVE WAITED FOR THE

1457. GUY TO COME BACK AND SAID,

1458. "DUDE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?", YOU

1459. KNOW?

1460. "CUT IT OUT. WHO ARE YOU?"

1461. AND THEY COULD HAVE DONE ALL

1462. THAT KIND OF STUFF, BUT THEY

1463. DIDN'T.

1464. WHAT THEY WANTED TO DO WAS FILM

1465. IT TO GATHER EVIDENCE TO MAKE A

1466. CASE.

1467. THAT'S THE ONLY REASON YOU FILM

1468. SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

1469. AT FIRST, THE ONLY PERSON

1470. CAUGHT ON THE GLITCHY

1471. SURVEILLANCE CAMERA WAS USING

1472. THE CLOSET AS A PLACE TO STORE

1473. BOTTLES AND CANS.

1474. BUT DAYS LATER, IT CAUGHT

1475. SWARTZ.

1476. SWARTZ IS REPLACING A HARD

1477. DRIVE.

1478. HE TAKES IT OUT OF HIS BACKPACK,

1479. LEANS OUT OF FRAME FOR ABOUT

1480. FIVE MINUTES, AND THEN LEAVES.

1481. AND THEN THEY ORGANIZED,

1482. LIKE, A STAKEOUT, WHERE, AS HE

1483. WAS BIKING HOME FROM MIT, THESE

1484. COPS CAME OUT FROM, LIKE, EITHER

1485. SIDE OF THE ROAD OR SOMETHING

1486. LIKE THAT AND STARTED GOING

1487. AFTER HIM.

1488. HE DESCRIBES THAT HE WAS

1489. PRESSED DOWN AND ASSAULTED BY

1490. THE POLICE.

1491. HE TELLS ME THAT IT'S UNCLEAR

1492. THAT THEY WERE POLICE THAT WERE

1493. AFTER HIM.

1494. HE THOUGHT THAT SOMEONE WAS

1495. TRYING TO ATTACK HIM.

1496. HE DOES TELL ME THEY BEAT HIM

1497. UP.

1498. AND IT WAS JUST DEVASTATING.

1499. THE NOTION OF ANY KIND OF

1500. CRIMINAL PROSECUTION OF ANYONE

1501. IN OUR FAMILY OR ANYTHING WAS SO

1502. FOREIGN AND INCOMPREHENSIBLE, I

1503. DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.

1504. WELL, THEY EXECUTE SEARCH

1505. WARRANTS AT AARON'S HOUSE, HIS

1506. APARTMENT IN CAMBRIDGE, IN HIS

1507. OFFICE AT HARVARD.

1508. TWO DAYS BEFORE THE ARREST,

1509. THE INVESTIGATION HAD GONE

1510. BEYOND JSTOR AND THE LOCAL

1511. CAMBRIDGE POLICE.

1512. IT HAD BEEN TAKEN OVER BY THE

1513. UNITED STATES SECRET SERVICE.

1514. THE SECRET SERVICE BEGAN

1515. INVESTIGATING COMPUTER AND

1516. CREDIT-CARD FRAUD IN 1984, BUT

1517. SIX WEEKS AFTER THE ATTACK ON

1518. 9/11, THEIR ROLE EXPANDED.

1519. PRESIDENT BUSH USED THE

1520. PATRIOT ACT TO ESTABLISH A

1521. NETWORK OF WHAT THEY CALLED

1522. ELECTRONIC CRIMES TASK FORCES.

1523. THE BILL BEFORE ME TAKES

1524. ACCOUNT OF THE NEW REALITIES AND

1525. DANGERS POSED BY MODERN

1526. TERRORISTS.

1527. ACCORDING TO THE SECRET

1528. SERVICE, THEY ARE PRIMARILY

1529. ENGAGED IN ACTIVITY WITH

1530. ECONOMIC IMPACT, ORGANIZED

1531. CRIMINAL GROUPS, OR USE OF

1532. SCHEMES INVOLVING NEW

1533. TECHNOLOGY.

1534. THE SECRET SERVICE TURNS

1535. SWARTZ'S CASE OVER TO THE BOSTON

1536. U.S. ATTORNEYS OFFICE.

1537. THERE WAS A GUY IN THE U.S.

1538. ATTORNEYS OFFICE WHO HAD THE

1539. TITLE HEAD OF THE COMPUTER

1540. CRIMES DIVISION OR TASK FORCE.

1541. I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE HE HAD

1542. GOING, BUT YOU'RE CERTAINLY NOT

1543. MUCH OF A COMPUTER CRIMES

1544. PROSECUTOR WITHOUT A COMPUTER

1545. CRIME TO PROSECUTE.

1546. SO HE JUMPED ON IT, KEPT IT FOR

1547. HIMSELF, DIDN'T ASSIGN IT TO

1548. SOMEONE ELSE WITHIN THE OFFICE

1549. OR THE UNIT, AND THAT'S

1550. STEVE HEYMANN.

1551. PROSECUTOR STEPHEN HEYMANN

1552. HAS BEEN LARGELY OUT OF PUBLIC

1553. VIEW SINCE THE ARREST OF

1554. AARON SWARTZ.

1555. BUT HE CAN BE SEEN HERE IN AN

1556. EPISODE OF THE TELEVISION SHOW

1557. "AMERICAN GREED" FILMED AROUND

1558. THE TIME OF AARON'S ARREST.

1559. HE IS DESCRIBING HIS PREVIOUS

1560. CASE AGAINST THE NOTORIOUS

1561. HACKER ALBERTO GONZALEZ, A CASE

1562. THAT GARNERED HEYMANN ENORMOUS

1563. PRESS ATTENTION AND ACCOLADES.

1564. GONZALEZ MASTERMINDED THE THEFT

1565. OF OVER 100 MILLION CREDIT-CARD

1566. AND ATM NUMBERS, THE LARGEST

1567. SUCH FRAUD IN HISTORY.

1568. HERE HEYMANN, DESCRIBING

1569. GONZALEZ, GIVES HIS VIEW ON THE

1570. HACKER MIND-SET.

1571. THESE GUYS ARE DRIVEN BY A

1572. LOT OF THE SAME THINGS THAT

1573. WE'RE DRIVEN BY.

1574. THEY HAVE AN EGO.

1575. THEY LIKE CHALLENGE.

1576. AND, OF COURSE, THEY LIKE MONEY

1577. AND EVERYTHING YOU CAN GET FROM

1578. MONEY.

1579. ONE OF THE SUSPECTS

1580. IMPLICATED IN THE GONZALEZ CASE

1581. WAS A YOUNG HACKER NAMED

1582. JONATHAN JAMES.

1583. BELIEVING GONZALEZ'S CRIMES

1584. WOULD BE PINNED ON HIM, JAMES

1585. COMMITTED SUICIDE DURING THE

1586. INVESTIGATION.

1587. IN AN EARLY PRESS RELEASE

1588. DESCRIBING THE GOVERNMENT'S

1589. POSITION IN THE CASE OF

1590. AARON SWARTZ, HEYMANN'S BOSS,

1591. U.S. ATTORNEY FOR THE DISTRICT

1592. OF MASSACHUSETTS CARMEN ORTIZ,

1593. SAID THIS...

1594. IT'S NOT TRUE.

1595. IT'S OBVIOUSLY NOT TRUE.

1596. I'M NOT SAYING IT'S HARMLESS,

1597. AND I'M NOT SAYING THAT WE

1598. SHOULDN'T CRIMINALIZE STEALING

1599. OF INFORMATION.

1600. BUT YOU'VE GOT TO BE MUCH MORE

1601. SUBTLE IN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT

1602. EXACTLY WHICH KINDS OF HARMS ARE

1603. HARMFUL HERE.

1604. SO, THE THING ABOUT A CROWBAR IS

1605. EVERY TIME I BREAK INTO A PLACE

1606. WITH A CROWBAR, I DO DAMAGE.

1607. THERE'S NO DOUBT ABOUT IT.

1608. BUT WHEN AARON WRITES A SCRIPT

1609. THAT SAYS "DOWNLOAD, DOWNLOAD,

1610. DOWNLOAD" 100 TIMES IN A SECOND,

1611. THERE'S NO OBVIOUS DAMAGE TO

1612. ANYBODY.

1613. IF HE DOES THAT FOR THE PURPOSE

1614. OF GATHERING ARCHIVE TO DO

1615. ACADEMIC RESEARCH ON IT, THERE

1616. IS NEVER ANY DAMAGE TO ANYBODY.

1617. HE WASN'T STEALING, HE WASN'T

1618. SELLING WHAT HE GOT, OR GIVING

1619. IT AWAY.

1620. HE WAS MAKING A POINT AS FAR AS

1621. I CAN TELL.

1622. THE ARREST TOOK ITS TOLL ON

1623. SWARTZ.

1624. HE JUST WOULDN'T TALK ABOUT

1625. IT.

1626. THEN HE'S, LIKE, VERY STRESSED.

1627. IF YOU THOUGHT THE FBI WAS,

1628. LIKE, GOING TO COME TO YOUR

1629. DOORSTEP ANY DAY, ANY TIME YOU

1630. WENT DOWN THE HALL EVEN TO DO

1631. YOUR LAUNDRY AND THEY WOULD

1632. BREAK IN TO YOUR APARTMENT

1633. 'CAUSE YOU LEFT THE DOOR

1634. UNLOCKED, LIKE, I'D BE PRETTY

1635. STRESSED.

1636. AND IT WAS CLEAR, AND SO AARON

1637. WAS ALWAYS SORT OF, LIKE, IN A

1638. DOUR MOOD.

1639. HE WOULDN'T GIVE OFF ANY

1640. SENSITIVE INFORMATION ABOUT HIS

1641. WHEREABOUTS DURING THIS TIME,

1642. 'CAUSE HE WAS SO AFRAID THAT THE

1643. FBI WOULD BE WAITING FOR HIM.

1644. IT WAS A TIME OF

1645. UNPRECEDENTED SOCIAL AND

1646. POLITICAL ACTIVISM.

1647. TIME MAGAZINE WOULD LATER NAME

1648. AS THEIR 2011 PERSON OF THE YEAR

1649. THE PROTESTOR.

1650. THERE WAS A KIND OF HOTBED OF

1651. HACKER ACTIVITY GOING ON.

1652. WikiLeaks HAD RELEASED A TROVE

1653. OF DIPLOMATIC CABLES.

1654. MANNING HAD BEEN UNDER ARREST AT

1655. THE TIME.

1656. IT WAS UNKNOWN WHETHER HE WAS

1657. THE SOURCE OF THE LEAK.

1658. ANONYMOUS, WHICH IS A KIND OF

1659. PROTEST ENSEMBLE THAT HAS A LOT

1660. OF HACKERS IN ITS RANKS, WERE

1661. GOING ON VARIOUS SPREES OF

1662. SORTS.

1663. IF YOU COMPARE THAT TO WHAT HE

1664. DID, HIS STUFF SHOULD HAVE BEEN

1665. LEFT BEHIND FOR MIT AND JSTOR TO

1666. DEAL WITH IN A KIND OF PRIVATE,

1667. PROFESSIONAL MATTER.

1668. IT SHOULD HAVE NEVER GOTTEN THE

1669. ATTENTION OF THE CRIMINAL

1670. SYSTEM.

1671. IT JUST DIDN'T BELONG THERE.

1672. BEFORE HE WAS INDICTED,

1673. SWARTZ WAS OFFERED A PLEA DEAL

1674. THAT INVOLVED THREE MONTHS IN

1675. PRISON, TIME IN A HALFWAY HOUSE,

1676. AND A YEAR OF HOME DETENTION,

1677. ALL WITHOUT THE USE OF A

1678. COMPUTER.

1679. IT WAS ON THE CONDITION THAT

1680. SWARTZ PLEAD GUILTY TO A FELONY.

1681. HERE WE ARE.

1682. WE HAVE NO DISCOVERY, NO

1683. EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER ABOUT WHAT

1684. THE GOVERNMENT'S CASE IS, AND WE

1685. HAVE TO MAKE THIS IMMENSE

1686. DECISION WHERE THE LAWYER IS

1687. PUSHING YOU TO DO THIS, THE

1688. GOVERNMENT IS GIVING YOU A

1689. NON-NEGOTIABLE DEMAND, AND

1690. YOU'RE TOLD THAT YOUR LIKELIHOOD

1691. OF PREVAILING IS SMALL, SO

1692. WHETHER YOU'RE GUILTY OR NOT,

1693. YOU'RE BETTER OFF TAKING THE

1694. DEAL.

1695. BOSTON HAS ITS OWN COMPUTER

1696. CRIMES DIVISION WITH LOTS OF

1697. LAWYERS — PROBABLY MORE LAWYERS

1698. THAN THEY NEED.

1699. SO, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN IMAGINE

1700. ALL SORTS OF CASES WHERE IT'S

1701. REALLY HARD TO PROSECUTE 'CAUSE

1702. YOU'VE GOT SOME CRIMINALS IN

1703. RUSSIA OR YOU'VE GOT SOME PEOPLE

1704. INSIDE OF A CORPORATION THAT ARE

1705. GONNA HAVE $500 LAWYERS OR

1706. $700-AN-HOUR LAWYERS SITTING

1707. DOWN AGAINST YOU.

1708. AND THEN YOU GOT THIS CASE WITH

1709. THIS KID.

1710. WHICH IT'S PRETTY EASY TO PROVE

1711. THAT HE DID SOMETHING, AND HE'S

1712. ALREADY MARKED HIMSELF AS A

1713. TROUBLEMAKER WITH THE FBI, SO

1714. WHY NOT GO AS TOUGH AS YOU CAN

1715. IN HERE AGAINST THAT GUY?

1716. IT'S GOOD FOR YOU, THE

1717. PROSECUTOR, IT'S GOOD FOR THE

1718. REPUBLIC, 'CAUSE YOU'RE FIGHTING

1719. ALL THOSE TERRORIST TYPES.

1720. I WAS SO SCARED.

1721. I WAS SO SCARED OF HAVING MY

1722. COMPUTER SEIZED.

1723. I WAS SO SCARED OF GOING TO JAIL

1724. BECAUSE OF MY COMPUTER BEING

1725. SEIZED.

1726. I HAD CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL FROM

1727. SOURCES FROM MY PREVIOUS WORK ON

1728. MY LAPTOP, AND THAT IS ABOVE ALL

1729. MY PRIORITIES — TO KEEP MY

1730. SOURCES SAFE.

1731. I WAS SO SCARED OF WHAT WAS

1732. GONNA HAPPEN TO ADA.

1733. AARON TOLD ME THAT THEY'D

1734. OFFERED HIM A DEAL, AND HE

1735. FINALLY JUST SAID THAT HE WOULD

1736. TAKE IT IF I TOLD HIM TO.

1737. AND I CAME REAL CLOSE TO SAYING,

1738. "TAKE IT."

1739. HE HAD THESE — HE HAD

1740. DEVELOPED, LIKE, SERIOUS

1741. POLITICAL ASPIRATIONS IN THE

1742. INTERVENING TIME BETWEEN WHEN,

1743. YOU KNOW, THAT MOMENT WHEN HE

1744. ENDED THAT ENTREPRENEURIAL

1745. START-UP LIFE AND BEGUN THIS NEW

1746. LIFE THAT HAD COME TO THIS

1747. POLITICAL ACTIVISM.

1748. AND HE JUST DIDN'T BELIEVE THAT

1749. HE COULD CONTINUE IN HIS LIFE

1750. WITH A FELONY.

1751. YOU KNOW, HE SAID TO ME ONE

1752. DAY — WE WERE WALKING BY THE

1753. WHITE HOUSE, AND HE SAID TO ME,

1754. "THEY DON'T LET FELONS WORK

1755. THERE."

1756. I MEAN, YOU KNOW, HE REALLY

1757. WANTED THAT TO BE HIS LIFE.

1758. HE HADN'T KILLED ANYBODY.

1759. HE HADN'T HURT ANYBODY.

1760. HE HADN'T, LIKE, STOLEN MONEY.

1761. HE HADN'T DONE ANYTHING THAT

1762. SEEMED FELONY WORTHY, RIGHT?

1763. AND...

1764. THERE IS THIS IDEA THAT, LIKE,

1765. THERE'S NO REASON THAT HE SHOULD

1766. BE LABELED A FELON AND TAKEN

1767. AWAY HIS RIGHT TO VOTE IN MANY

1768. STATES FOR DOING WHAT HE DID.

1769. LIKE, THAT'S JUST OUTRAGEOUS.

1770. LIKE, IT MAKES SENSE FOR HIM TO

1771. BE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE FINED A

1772. BUNCH OF MONEY OR, YOU KNOW,

1773. ASKED NOT TO COME BACK TO MIT

1774. AGAIN.

1775. BUT, LIKE, TO BE A FELON?

1776. TO FACE JAIL TIME?

1777. SWARTZ TURNED DOWN THE PLEA

1778. DEAL.

1779. HEYMANN DOUBLED HIS EFFORTS.

1780. HEYMANN CONTINUED TO PRESS US AT

1781. ALL LEVELS.

1782. EVEN WITH THE PHYSICAL

1783. EVIDENCE SEIZED FROM AARON'S

1784. ACER COMPUTER, HARD DRIVE, AND

1785. USB DRIVE, THE PROSECUTORS

1786. NEEDED EVIDENCE OF HIS MOTIVES.

1787. WHY WAS AARON SWARTZ DOWNLOADING

1788. ARTICLES FROM JSTOR, AND JUST

1789. WHAT DID HE PLAN TO DO WITH

1790. THEM?

1791. THE GOVERNMENT CLAIMS THAT HE

1792. WAS PLANNING TO PUBLISH THESE.

1793. WE DON'T REALLY KNOW WHETHER

1794. THAT WAS HIS REAL INTENTION,

1795. BECAUSE AARON ALSO HAD A HISTORY

1796. OF DOING PROJECTS WHERE HE'D

1797. ANALYZE GIANT DATA SETS OF

1798. ARTICLES, YOU KNOW, OR TO LEARN

1799. INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT THEM.

1800. THE BEST EVIDENCE FOR THAT

1801. WAS THAT WHEN HE WAS AT

1802. STANFORD, HE ALSO DOWNLOADED THE

1803. WHOLE WESTLAW LEGAL DATABASE.

1804. IN A PROJECT WITH STANFORD

1805. LAW STUDENTS, SWARTZ HAD

1806. DOWNLOADED THE WESTLAW LEGAL

1807. DATABASE.

1808. HE UNCOVERED TROUBLING

1809. CONNECTIONS BETWEEN FUNDERS OF

1810. LEGAL RESEARCH AND FAVORABLE

1811. RESULTS.

1812. HE DID THIS AMAZING ANALYSIS

1813. OF FOR-PROFIT COMPANIES GIVING

1814. MONEY TO LAW PROFESSORS WHO

1815. WROTE LAW-REVIEW ARTICLES WHICH

1816. WERE THEN BENEFICIAL TO, LIKE,

1817. EXXON DURING AN OIL SPILL,

1818. RIGHT?

1819. SO IT WAS A VERY CORRUPT SYSTEM

1820. OF FUNDING, YOU KNOW, VANITY

1821. RESEARCH.

1822. SWARTZ HAD NEVER RELEASED THE

1823. WESTLAW DOCUMENTS.

1824. IN THEORY, HE COULD HAVE BEEN

1825. DOING THE SAME THING ABOUT THE

1826. JSTOR DATABASE.

1827. THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY

1828. OKAY.

1829. IF HE WERE, ON THE OTHER HAND,

1830. INTENDING TO CREATE A

1831. COMPETITIVE SERVICE TO JSTOR,

1832. LIKE WE'RE GONNA SET UP OUR OWN,

1833. YOU KNOW, ACCESS TO THE

1834. HARVARD LAW REVIEW AND CHARGE,

1835. YOU KNOW, MONEY FOR IT, THEN,

1836. YOU KNOW, OKAY, NOW IT SEEMS

1837. LIKE CRIMINAL VIOLATION BECAUSE

1838. YOU'RE COMMERCIALLY TRYING TO

1839. EXPLOIT THIS MATERIAL.

1840. BUT IT'S KIND OF CRAZY TO

1841. IMAGINE THAT'S WHAT HE WAS

1842. DOING.

1843. SO BUT THEN THERE'S THE MIDDLE

1844. CASE.

1845. WELL, WHAT IF HE WAS JUST TRYING

1846. TO LIBERATE IT FOR ALL OF

1847. DEVELOPING WORLD?

1848. BUT DEPENDING ON WHAT HE WAS

1849. DOING, IT CREATES A VERY

1850. DIFFERENT CHARACTER TO HOW ALL

1851. THE LAW SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT

1852. IT.

1853. THE GOVERNMENT'S PROSECUTING HIM

1854. AS IF THIS WAS LIKE A COMMERCIAL

1855. CRIMINAL VIOLATION, LIKE

1856. STEALING A WHOLE BUNCH OF

1857. CREDIT-CARD RECORDS, THAT IT WAS

1858. THAT KIND OF CRIME.

1859. I DON'T KNOW WHAT HE WAS

1860. GONNA DO WITH THAT DATABASE, BUT

1861. I HEARD FROM A FRIEND OF HIS

1862. THAT AARON HAD TOLD HIM HE WAS

1863. GONNA ANALYZE THE DATA FOR

1864. EVIDENCE OF CORPORATE FUNDING OF

1865. CLIMATE-CHANGE RESEARCH THAT LED

1866. TO BIASED RESULTS.

1867. AND I TOTALLY BELIEVE THAT.

1868. I WAS JUST TOLD THAT STEVE

1869. WANTED TO TALK TO ME.

1870. AND I THOUGHT, "MAYBE THIS IS A

1871. WAY I COULD GET OUT OF THIS,

1872. JUST EXIT THE SITUATION."

1873. AND I DIDN'T WANT TO LIVE IN

1874. FEAR OF HAVING MY COMPUTER

1875. SEIZED.

1876. I DIDN'T WANT TO LIVE IN FEAR OF

1877. HAVING TO GO TO JAIL ON A

1878. CONTEMPT OF COURT CHARGE IF THEY

1879. TRIED TO COMPEL ME TO DECRYPT MY

1880. COMPUTER.

1881. WHEN THEY CAME TO ME AND SAID,

1882. "STEVE WANTS TO TALK TO YOU,"

1883. THAT SEEMED REASONABLE.

1884. THEY OFFERED NORTON WHAT IS

1885. KNOWN AS A QUEEN FOR A DAY

1886. LETTER, OR A PROFFER.

1887. IT ALLOWED PROSECUTORS TO ASK

1888. QUESTIONS ABOUT AARON'S CASE.

1889. NORTON WOULD BE GIVEN IMMUNITY

1890. FROM PROSECUTION HERSELF FOR ANY

1891. INFORMATION SHE REVEALED DURING

1892. THE MEETING.

1893. I DIDN'T LIKE IT.

1894. I TOLD MY LAWYERS REPEATEDLY

1895. THAT I DIDN'T — THIS SEEMED

1896. FISHY.

1897. I DIDN'T LIKE THIS.

1898. I DIDN'T WANT IMMUNITY.

1899. I DIDN'T NEED IMMUNITY.

1900. I HADN'T DONE ANYTHING.

1901. BUT THEY WERE REALLY, REALLY

1902. STRINGENT THAT THEY DID NOT WANT

1903. ME MEETING THE PROSECUTOR

1904. WITHOUT IMMUNITY.

1905. BUT JUST TO BE CLEAR, THIS IS

1906. A QUEEN FOR A DAY DEAL, A

1907. PROFFER?

1908. RIGHT. A PROFFER LETTER.

1909. IN WHICH YOU BASICALLY HANDED

1910. INFORMATION OVER TO THEM IN

1911. EXCHANGE FOR PROTECTION FROM

1912. PROSECUTION.

1913. SO, IT WASN'T HANDING

1914. INFORMATION OVER.

1915. IT WAS — AT LEAST THAT'S NOT

1916. HOW I SAW IT.

1917. IT WAS JUST HAVING A DISCUSSION,

1918. HAVING AN INTERVIEW WITH THEM.

1919. WELL, THEY'RE ASKING YOU

1920. QUESTIONS.

1921. THEY'RE ASKING ME QUESTIONS.

1922. AND THEY CAN ASK ABOUT

1923. WHATEVER THEY WANT.

1924. RIGHT.

1925. AND WHATEVER THEY LEARN,

1926. YOU'RE NOT GONNA BE PROSECUTED.

1927. RIGHT.

1928. AND I REPEATEDLY TRIED TO GO IN

1929. NAKED.

1930. I REPEATEDLY TRIED TO TURN DOWN

1931. THE PROFFER LETTER.

1932. I WAS ILL.

1933. I WAS BEING PRESSURED BY MY

1934. LAWYERS.

1935. I WAS CONFUSED.

1936. I WAS NOT DOING WELL BY THIS

1937. POINT.

1938. I WAS DEPRESSED, AND I WAS

1939. SCARED, AND I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND

1940. THE SITUATION I WAS IN.

1941. I HAD NO IDEA WHY I WAS IN THIS

1942. SITUATION.

1943. I HADN'T DONE ANYTHING

1944. INTERESTING, MUCH LESS WRONG.

1945. WE WENT OUT OF OUR MINDS.

1946. AARON WAS CLEARLY VERY

1947. DISTRAUGHT ABOUT IT.

1948. WE WERE VERY DISTRAUGHT ABOUT

1949. IT.

1950. AARON'S ATTORNEYS WERE VERY

1951. DISTRAUGHT ABOUT IT.

1952. WE TRIED TO GET QUINN TO CHANGE

1953. ATTORNEYS.

1954. I WAS VERY UNUSED TO BEING IN

1955. A ROOM WITH LARGE MEN WELL-ARMED

1956. THAT ARE CONTINUALLY TELLING ME

1957. I'M LYING AND THAT I MUST HAVE

1958. DONE SOMETHING.

1959. I TOLD THEM THAT THIS THING THAT

1960. THEY WERE PROSECUTING WASN'T A

1961. CRIME.

1962. I TOLD THEM THAT THEY WERE ON

1963. THE WRONG SIDE OF HISTORY.

1964. I USED THAT PHRASE.

1965. I SAID, "YOU'RE ON THE WRONG

1966. SIDE OF HISTORY."

1967. AND THEY LOOKED BORED.

1968. THEY DIDN'T EVEN LOOK ANGRY.

1969. THEY JUST LOOKED BORED.

1970. AND IT BEGAN TO OCCUR TO ME THAT

1971. WE WEREN'T HAVING THE SAME

1972. CONVERSATION.

1973. I MEAN, I TOLD THEM PLENTY OF

1974. THINGS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHY

1975. PEOPLE WOULD DOWNLOAD JOURNAL

1976. ARTICLES, AND EVENTUALLY — I

1977. DON'T REMEMBER WHAT WAS AROUND

1978. IT.

1979. I MENTIONED THAT HE'D DONE THIS

1980. BLOG POST, THE

1981. GUERILLA OPEN ACCESS MANIFESTO.

1982. THIS IS THE

1983. GUERILLA OPEN ACCESS MANIFESTO

1984. SUPPOSEDLY WRITTEN IN JULY 2008

1985. IN ITALY.

1986. "INFORMATION IS POWER.

1987. BUT LIKE ALL POWER, THERE ARE

1988. THOSE WHO WANT TO KEEP IT FOR

1989. THEMSELVES.

1990. THE WORLD'S ENTIRE SCIENTIFIC

1991. AND CULTURE HERITAGE PUBLISHED

1992. OVER CENTURIES IN BOOKS AND

1993. JOURNALS IS INCREASINGLY BEING

1994. DIGITIZED AND LOCKED UP BY A

1995. HANDFUL OF PRIVATE CORPORATIONS.

1996. MEANWHILE, THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN

1997. LOCKED OUT ARE NOT STANDING IDLY

1998. BY.

1999. YOU'VE BEEN SNEAKING THROUGH

2000. HOLES AND CLIMBING OVER FENCES,

2001. LIBERATING THE INFORMATION

2002. LOCKED UP BY THE PUBLISHERS AND

2003. SHARING THEM WITH YOUR FRIENDS.

2004. BUT ALL OF THIS ACTION GOES ON

2005. IN THE DARK, HIDDEN UNDERGROUND.

2006. IT'S CALLED STEALING OR PIRACY,

2007. AS IF SHARING A WEALTH OF

2008. KNOWLEDGE WERE THE MORAL

2009. EQUIVALENT OF PLUNDERING A SHIP

2010. AND MURDERING ITS CREW.

2011. BUT SHARING ISN'T IMMORAL —

2012. IT'S A MORAL IMPERATIVE.

2013. ONLY THOSE BLINDED BY GREED

2014. WOULD REFUSE TO LET A FRIEND

2015. MAKE A COPY.

2016. THERE'S NO JUSTICE IN FOLLOWING

2017. UNJUST LAWS.

2018. IT'S TIME TO COME INTO THE LIGHT

2019. AND, IN A GRAND TRADITION OF

2020. CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE, DECLARE OUR

2021. OPPOSITION TO THIS PRIVATE THEFT

2022. OF PUBLIC CULTURE."

2023. THE MANIFESTO ITSELF WAS

2024. ALLEGEDLY WRITTEN BY FOUR

2025. DIFFERENT PEOPLE AND ALSO EDITED

2026. BY NORTON.

2027. BUT IT WAS SWARTZ WHO HAD SIGNED

2028. HIS NAME TO IT.

2029. WHEN IT'S OVER, I GO

2030. IMMEDIATELY TO AARON AND TELL

2031. HIM EVERYTHING I CAN REMEMBER

2032. ABOUT IT.

2033. AND HE GETS VERY ANGRY.

2034. THE THINGS THAT I'D DONE

2035. SHOULDN'T HAVE ADDED UP THAT

2036. WAY.

2037. I HADN'T DONE ANYTHING WRONG,

2038. AND EVERYTHING HAD GONE WRONG.

2039. BUT I WAS NEVER...

2040. I'M STILL ANGRY.

2041. I'M STILL ANGRY THAT YOU CAN TRY

2042. YOUR BEST WITH THESE PEOPLE TO

2043. DO THE RIGHT THING, AND THEY

2044. WILL TURN EVERYTHING AGAINST YOU

2045. AND THEY WILL HURT YOU WITH

2046. ANYTHING THEY CAN.

2047. AND IN THAT MOMENT, I REGRET

2048. THAT I SAID WHAT I DID.

2049. BUT MY MUCH LARGER REGRET IS

2050. THAT WE HAVE SETTLED FOR THIS,

2051. THAT WE ARE OKAY WITH THIS, THAT

2052. WE ARE OKAY WITH A JUSTICE

2053. SYSTEM THAT TRIES TO GAME PEOPLE

2054. INTO LITTLE TRAPS SO THEY CAN

2055. RUIN THEIR LIVES.

2056. SO, YEAH, I WISH I HADN'T SAID

2057. THAT, BUT I'M MUCH, MUCH ANGRIER

2058. THAT THIS IS WHERE I AM...

2059. THAT THIS IS WHAT WE AS A PEOPLE

2060. THINK IS OKAY.

2061. THEY USED EVERY METHOD THAT I

2062. THINK THEY COULD THINK OF TO GET

2063. HER TO PROVIDE INFORMATION WHICH

2064. WOULD BE UNHELPFUL TO AARON AND

2065. HELPFUL TO THE PROSECUTION OF

2066. AARON.

2067. BUT, YOU KNOW, I DON'T THINK SHE

2068. HAD INFORMATION THAT WAS HELPFUL

2069. TO THE GOVERNMENT.

2070. MONTHS GO BY AS SWARTZ'S

2071. FRIENDS AND FAMILY AWAIT A

2072. LOOMING INDICTMENT.

2073. IN THE MEANTIME, SWARTZ WAS

2074. BECOMING A GO-TO EXPERT ON A

2075. SERIES OF INTERNET ISSUES.

2076. DO YOU THINK THAT THE

2077. INTERNET IS SOMETHING THAT

2078. SHOULD BE CONSIDERED A HUMAN

2079. RIGHT AND SOMETHING THAT THE

2080. GOVERNMENT CANNOT TAKE AWAY FROM

2081. YOU?

2082. YES, DEFINITELY.

2083. I MEAN, THIS NOTION THAT

2084. NATIONAL SECURITY IS AN EXCUSE

2085. TO SHUT DOWN THE INTERNET,

2086. THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE HEARD IN

2087. EGYPT AND SYRIA AND ALL THESE

2088. OTHER COUNTRIES.

2089. AND SO, YEAH, IT'S TRUE.

2090. SITES LIKE WikiLeaks ARE GOING

2091. TO BE PUTTING UP SOME

2092. EMBARRASSING MATERIAL ABOUT WHAT

2093. THE U.S. GOVERNMENT DOES, AND

2094. PEOPLE ARE GONNA BE ORGANIZING

2095. TO PROTEST ABOUT IT AND TRY AND

2096. CHANGE THEIR GOVERNMENT.

2097. YOU KNOW, AND THAT'S A GOOD

2098. THING.

2099. THAT'S WHAT ALL THESE

2100. FIRST-AMENDMENT RIGHTS, FREE

2101. EXPRESSION, FREEDOM OF

2102. ASSOCIATION ARE ALL ABOUT.

2103. AND SO, THE NOTION THAT WE

2104. SHOULD TRY AND SHUT THOSE DOWN I

2105. THINK JUST GOES AGAINST VERY

2106. BASIC AMERICAN PRINCIPLES.

2107. THE PRINCIPLE, I THINK, IS ONE

2108. THAT OUR FOUNDING FATHERS WOULD

2109. HAVE UNDERSTOOD.

2110. IF THE INTERNET HAD BEEN AROUND

2111. BACK THEN, INSTEAD OF PUTTING

2112. POST OFFICES IN THE

2113. CONSTITUTION, THEY WOULD HAVE

2114. PUT ISPs.

2115. WELL, IT'S DEFINITELY

2116. INTERESTING TO SEE HOW...

2117. SWARTZ MEETS ACTIVIST

2118. TAREN STINEBRICKNER-KAUFFMAN,

2119. AND THE TWO BEGIN TO DATE.

2120. WE NEED A MASSIVE GLOBAL

2121. PUBLIC OUTCRY.

2122. THERE'S NO MASSIVE GLOBAL

2123. PUBLIC OUTCRY.

2124. IT WON'T CREATE ANY CHANGE.

2125. YOU KNOW, FOUR PEOPLE IN THIS

2126. CITY SHOULD CAUSE A MASSIVE

2127. GLOBAL PUBLIC OUTCRY.

2128. YOU KNOW, WE NEED A PETITION

2129. SIGNER.

2130. WITHOUT TELLING HER

2131. SPECIFICS, HE WARNED HER HE WAS

2132. INVOLVED IN SOMETHING HE CALLED

2133. SIMPLY "THE BAD THING."

2134. AND I HAD SORT OF CRAZY

2135. THEORIES, LIKE THAT HE WAS

2136. HAVING AN AFFAIR WITH

2137. ELIZABETH WARREN OR SOMETHING.

2138. I SPECULATED BOTH

2139. HILLARY CLINTON AND

2140. ELIZABETH WARREN, ACTUALLY.

2141. BUT...

2142. SO, SOMETIME IN PROBABLY LATE

2143. JULY, AARON CALLED ME, AND I

2144. HAPPENED TO PICK UP, AND HE

2145. SAID, YOU KNOW, "THE BAD THING

2146. MIGHT BE IN THE NEWS TOMORROW.

2147. DO YOU WANT ME TO TELL YOU, OR

2148. DO YOU WANT TO READ ABOUT IT IN

2149. THE NEWS?"

2150. AND I SAID, "WELL, I WANT YOU TO

2151. TELL ME."

2152. AND HE SAID, "WELL, I'VE BEEN

2153. ARRESTED FOR DOWNLOADING TOO

2154. MANY ACADEMIC-JOURNAL ARTICLES,

2155. AND THEY WANT TO MAKE AN EXAMPLE

2156. OUT OF ME."

2157. AND I WAS LIKE, "THAT'S IT?

2158. THAT'S THE BIG FUSS?

2159. REALLY?

2160. LIKE, THIS DOESN'T SOUND LIKE A

2161. VERY BIG DEAL."

2162. ON JULY 14, 2011, FEDERAL

2163. PROSECUTORS INDICT SWARTZ ON

2164. FOUR FELONY COUNTS.

2165. HE GETS INDICTED ON THE SAME

2166. DAY THAT, LIKE, TWO PEOPLE IN

2167. ENGLAND WHO ARE PART OF LulzSec

2168. GET ARRESTED AND, LIKE, A VERY

2169. OTHER REAL HACKERS.

2170. AND AARON IS JUST, LIKE, SOMEONE

2171. WHO KIND OF LOOKS LIKE A HACKER

2172. ENOUGH THAT THEY CAN, LIKE, YOU

2173. KNOW, PUT HIS HEAD ON A STAKE

2174. AND, LIKE, PUT IT ON THE GATES.

2175. AARON WENT TO SURRENDER, AND

2176. THEY ARRESTED HIM.

2177. THEY THEN STRIP-SEARCHED HIM,

2178. TOOK AWAY HIS SHOELACES, TOOK

2179. AWAY HIS BELT, AND LEFT HIM IN

2180. SOLITARY CONFINEMENT.

2181. THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS

2182. UNITED STATES ATTORNEYS OFFICE

2183. RELEASED A STATEMENT SAYING

2184. SWARTZ FACES UP TO 35 YEARS IN

2185. PRISON, TO BE FOLLOWED BY THREE

2186. YEARS OF SUPERVISED RELEASE,

2187. RESTITUTION, FORFEITURE, AND A

2188. FINE OF UP TO $1 MILLION.

2189. HE IS RELEASED ON $100,000 BAIL

2190. THE SAME DAY THE PRIMARY VICTIM

2191. IN THE CASE, JSTOR, FORMALLY

2192. DROPS ALL CHARGES AGAINST

2193. SWARTZ AND DECLINES TO PURSUE

2194. THE CASE.

2195. JSTOR — THEY WEREN'T OUR

2196. FRIENDS.

2197. THEY WEREN'T HELPFUL OR FRIENDLY

2198. TO US, BUT THEY ALSO WERE JUST

2199. KIND OF LIKE, "WE'RE NOT PART OF

2200. THIS."

2201. JSTOR AND THEIR PARENT

2202. COMPANY, ITHAKA, ALSO

2203. SIDESTEPPED REQUESTS TO TALK

2204. WITH THIS FILM.

2205. BUT AT THE TIME, THEY RELEASED A

2206. STATEMENT SAYING IT WAS THE

2207. GOVERNMENT'S DECISION WHETHER TO

2208. PROSECUTE, NOT JSTOR's.

2209. AND SO, IT'S OUR BELIEF THAT

2210. WITH THAT, THE CASE WILL BE

2211. OVER, THAT WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO

2212. GET STEVE HEYMANN DROP THE CASE

2213. OR SETTLE IT IN SOME RATIONAL

2214. WAY.

2215. AND THE GOVERNMENT REFUSED.

2216. WHY?

2217. WELL, BECAUSE I THINK THEY

2218. WANTED TO MAKE AN EXAMPLE OUT OF

2219. AARON, AND THEY SAID THEY WANTED

2220. TO — THE REASON WHY THEY

2221. WOULDN'T MOVE ON REQUIRING A

2222. FELONY CONVICTION AND JAIL TIME

2223. WAS THAT THEY WANTED — THEY

2224. WANTED TO USE THIS CASE AS A

2225. CASE FOR DETERRENCE.

2226. THEY TOLD US THAT.

2227. THEY TOLD YOU THAT?

2228. YES.

2229. THIS WAS GONNA BE AN EXAMPLE?

2230. YES.

2231. HE WAS GONNA BE MADE AN

2232. EXAMPLE OF?

2233. YES.

2234. STEVE HEYMANN SAID THAT.

2235. DETERRING WHO?

2236. LIKE, THERE'S OTHER PEOPLE OUT

2237. THERE RUNNING AROUND LOGGING ON

2238. TO JSTOR AND DOWNLOADING THE

2239. ARTICLES TO MAKE A POLITICAL

2240. STATEMENT?

2241. I MEAN, WHO WERE THEY DETERRING?

2242. IT WOULD BE EASIER TO

2243. UNDERSTAND THE OBAMA

2244. ADMINISTRATION'S POSTURE OF

2245. SUPPOSEDLY BEING FOR DETERRENCE

2246. IF THIS WAS AN ADMINISTRATION

2247. THAT, FOR INSTANCE, PROSECUTED

2248. ARGUABLY THE BIGGEST ECONOMIC

2249. CRIME THIS COUNTRY HAS SEEN IN

2250. THE LAST HUNDRED YEARS, THE

2251. CRIMES THAT WERE COMMITTED THAT

2252. LED TO THE FINANCIAL CRISIS ON

2253. WALL STREET.

2254. WHEN YOU START DEPLOYING THE

2255. NON-CONTROVERSIAL IDEA OF

2256. DETERRENCE, ONLY SELECTIVELY YOU

2257. STOP MAKING A DISPASSIONATE

2258. ANALYSIS OF LAW-BREAKING AND

2259. YOU'VE STARTED DECIDING TO

2260. DEPLOY LAW-ENFORCEMENT RESOURCES

2261. SPECIFICALLY ON THE BASIS OF

2262. POLITICAL IDEOLOGY.

2263. AND THAT'S NOT JUST

2264. UNDEMOCRATIC.

2265. IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE UNAMERICAN.

2266. PROSECUTOR STEPHEN HEYMANN

2267. LATER REPORTEDLY TOLD MIT's

2268. OUTSIDE COUNSEL THAT THE STRAW

2269. THAT BROKE THE CAMEL'S BACK WAS

2270. A PRESS RELEASE SENT OUT BY AN

2271. ORGANIZATION SWARTZ FOUNDED

2272. CALLED DEMAND PROGRESS.

2273. ACCORDING TO THE MIT ACCOUNT,

2274. HEYMANN REACTED TO THE SWARTZ

2275. STATEMENT OF SUPPORT, CALLING IT

2276. A WILD INTERNET CAMPAIGN AND A

2277. FOOLISH MOVE THAT MOVED THE CASE

2278. FROM A HUMAN ONE-ON-ONE LEVEL TO

2279. AN INSTITUTIONAL LEVEL.

2280. THAT WAS A POISONOUS

2281. COMBINATION — A PROSECUTOR WHO

2282. DIDN'T WANT TO LOSE FACE, WHO

2283. HAD A POLITICAL CAREER IN THE

2284. OFFING MAYBE AND DIDN'T WANT TO

2285. HAVE THIS COME BACK AND HAUNT

2286. HIM.

2287. YOU SPENT HOW MANY TAX DOLLARS

2288. ARRESTING SOMEONE FOR TAKING TOO

2289. MANY BOOKS OUT OF THE LIBRARY

2290. AND THEN GOT YOUR ASS HANDED TO

2291. YOU IN COURT?

2292. NO WAY.

2293. I THEN MOVED TO TRY TO PUT

2294. PRESSURE ON MIT IN VARIOUS WAYS

2295. TO GET THEM TO GO TO THE

2296. GOVERNMENT AND REQUEST THE

2297. GOVERNMENT TO STOP THE

2298. PROSECUTION.

2299. WHAT WAS MIT's REACTION TO

2300. THAT?

2301. THERE DOESN'T SEEM TO BE ANY

2302. REACTION FROM MIT AT THAT POINT.

2303. MIT DOESN'T DEFEND AARON,

2304. WHICH, TO PEOPLE INSIDE OF THE

2305. MIT COMMUNITY, SEEMS OUTRAGEOUS,

2306. BECAUSE MIT IS A PLACE THAT

2307. ENCOURAGES HACKING IN THE

2308. BIGGEST SENSE OF THE WORLD.

2309. AT MIT, THE IDEA OF GOING AND

2310. RUNNING AROUND ON ROOFS AND

2311. TUNNELS THAT YOU WEREN'T ALLOWED

2312. TO BE IN WAS NOT ONLY A RITE OF

2313. PASSAGE.

2314. IT WAS PART OF THE MIT TOUR.

2315. AND LOCK-PICKING WAS A WINTER

2316. COURSE AT MIT.

2317. THEY HAD THE MORAL AUTHORITY

2318. TO STOP IT IN ITS TRACKS.

2319. MIT NEVER STOOD UP AND TOOK A

2320. POSITION SAYING TO THE FEDS,

2321. "DON'T DO THIS.

2322. WE DON'T WANT YOU TO DO THIS.

2323. YOU'RE OVERREACTING.

2324. THIS IS TOO STRONG," THAT I'M

2325. AWARE OF.

2326. THEY ACTED KIND OF LIKE ANY

2327. CORPORATION WOULD.

2328. THEY SORT OF — THEY HELPED THE

2329. GOVERNMENT.

2330. THEY DIDN'T HELP US UNLESS THEY

2331. FELT THEY HAD TO.

2332. AND THEY NEVER TRIED TO STOP IT.

2333. MIT DECLINED REPEATED

2334. REQUESTS TO COMMENT, BUT THEY

2335. LATER RELEASED A REPORT SAYING

2336. THEY ATTEMPTED TO MAINTAIN A

2337. POSITION OF NEUTRALITY AND

2338. BELIEVED HEYMANN AND THE U.S.

2339. ATTORNEYS OFFICE DID NOT CARE

2340. WHAT MIT THOUGHT OR SAID ABOUT

2341. THE CASE.

2342. MIT's BEHAVIOR SEEMED REALLY

2343. AT ODDS WITH THE MIT ETHOS,

2344. RIGHT?

2345. YOU COULD ARGUE THAT MIT TURNED

2346. A BLIND EYE AND THAT WAS OKAY

2347. FOR THEM TO DO.

2348. BUT TAKING THAT STANCE, TAKING

2349. THAT NEUTRAL STANCE IN AND OF

2350. ITSELF WAS TAKING A

2351. PRO-PROSECUTOR STANCE.

2352. IF YOU LOOK AT STEVE JOBS AND

2353. STEVE WOZNIAK, THEY STARTED BY

2354. SELLING A BLUE BOX, WHICH WAS A

2355. THING DESIGNED TO DEFRAUD THE

2356. PHONE COMPANY.

2357. IF YOU LOOK AT BILL GATES AND

2358. PAUL ALLEN, THEY INITIALLY

2359. STARTED THEIR BUSINESS BY USING

2360. COMPUTER TIME AT HARVARD, WHICH

2361. WAS PRETTY CLEARLY AGAINST THE

2362. RULES.

2363. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AARON AND THE

2364. PEOPLE I JUST MENTIONED IS THAT

2365. AARON WANTED TO MAKE THE WORLD A

2366. BETTER PLACE.

2367. HE DIDN'T JUST WANT TO MAKE

2368. MONEY.

2369. SWARTZ CONTINUES TO BE

2370. OUTSPOKEN ON A VARIETY OF

2371. INTERNET ISSUES.

2372. YOU KNOW, THE REASON THE

2373. INTERNET WORKS IS BECAUSE OF THE

2374. COMPETITIVE MARKETPLACE OF

2375. IDEAS.

2376. AND WHAT WE NEED TO BE FOCUSING

2377. ON IS GETTING MORE INFORMATION

2378. ABOUT OUR GOVERNMENT, MORE

2379. ACCESSIBILITY, MORE DISCUSSION,

2380. MORE DEBATE.

2381. BUT INSTEAD, IT SEEMS LIKE WHAT

2382. CONGRESS IS FOCUSED ON IS

2383. SHUTTING THINGS DOWN.

2384. AARON THOUGHT HE COULD CHANGE

2385. THE WORLD JUST BY EXPLAINING THE

2386. WORLD VERY CLEARLY TO PEOPLE.

2387. FLAME CAN LITERALLY CONTROL

2388. YOUR COMPUTER AND MAKE IT SPY ON

2389. YOU.

2390. WELCOME, AARON.

2391. GOOD TO HAVE YOU BACK ON THE

2392. SHOW HERE.

2393. YOU KNOW, JUST LIKE SPIES

2394. USED TO IN OLDEN DAYS WITH

2395. MICROPHONES AND TAP WHAT PEOPLE

2396. WERE SAYING, NOW THEY'RE USING

2397. COMPUTERS TO DO THE SAME THINGS.

2398. SWARTZ'S POLITICAL ACTIVITY

2399. CONTINUES, HIS ATTENTION TURNING

2400. TO A BILL MOVING THROUGH

2401. CONGRESS DESIGNED TO CURB ONLINE

2402. PIRACY.

2403. IT WAS CALLED SOPA.

2404. ACTIVISTS LIKE

2405. PETER ECKERSLEY SAW IT AS AN

2406. ENORMOUS OVERREACH THREATENING

2407. THE TECHNICAL INTEGRITY OF THE

2408. INTERNET ITSELF.

2409. AND ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS I

2410. DID WAS TO CALL AARON, AND I

2411. SAID, "CAN WE DO A BIG ONLINE

2412. CAMPAIGN AGAINST THIS?"

2413. "THIS ISN'T A BILL ABOUT

2414. COPYRIGHT."

2415. IT'S NOT?

2416. "NO," HE SAID.

2417. "IT'S A BILL ABOUT THE FREEDOM

2418. TO CONNECT."

2419. NOW I WAS LISTENING.

2420. AND HE THOUGHT ABOUT IT FOR A

2421. WHILE AND THEN SAID YES, AND HE

2422. WENT AND FOUNDED

2423. DEMAND PROGRESS.

2424. DEMAND PROGRESS IS AN ONLINE

2425. ACTIVISM ORGANIZATION.

2426. WE GOT AROUND A MILLION AND A

2427. HALF MEMBERS NOW.

2428. IT STARTED IN THE FALL OF 2010.

2429. AARON WAS ONE OF THE MOST

2430. PROMINENT PEOPLE IN THE

2431. COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE WHO HELPED

2432. LEAD ORGANIZING AROUND

2433. SOCIAL-JUSTICE ISSUES AT THE

2434. FEDERAL LEVEL IN THIS COUNTRY.

2435. SOPA WAS THE BILL THAT WAS

2436. INTENDED TO CURTAIL ONLINE

2437. PIRACY OF MUSIC AND MOVIES, BUT

2438. WHAT IT DID WAS BASICALLY TAKE A

2439. SLEDGEHAMMER TO A PROBLEM THAT

2440. NEEDED A SCALPEL.

2441. IF PASSED, THE LAW WOULD

2442. ALLOW A COMPANY TO CUT OFF

2443. FINANCES TO ENTIRE WEBSITES

2444. WITHOUT DUE PROCESS OR EVEN TO

2445. FORCE GOOGLE TO EXCLUDE THEIR

2446. LINKS.

2447. ALL THEY NEEDED WAS A SINGLE

2448. CLAIM OF COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT.

2449. IT PITTED THE TITANS OF

2450. TRADITIONAL MEDIA AGAINST A NEW

2451. AND NOW FAR MORE SOPHISTICATED

2452. REMIX CULTURE.

2453. IT MAKES EVERYONE WHO RUNS A

2454. WEBSITE INTO A POLICEMAN, AND IF

2455. THEY DON'T DO THEIR JOB OF

2456. MAKING SURE NOBODY ON THEIR SITE

2457. USES IT FOR ANYTHING THAT'S EVEN

2458. POTENTIALLY ILLEGAL, THE ENTIRE

2459. SITE CAN GET SHUT DOWN WITHOUT

2460. EVEN SO MUCH AS A TRIAL.

2461. THIS WAS OVER THE TOP.

2462. I MEAN, THIS WAS A CATASTROPHE.

2463. THIS BILL POSES A SERIOUS

2464. THREAT TO SPEECH AND CIVIL

2465. LIBERTIES FOR ALL WHO USE THE

2466. INTERNET.

2467. ONLY A HANDFUL OF US WHO SAID,

2468. "LOOK, WE'RE NOT FOR PIRACY,

2469. EITHER, BUT IT MAKES NO SENSE TO

2470. DESTROY THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE

2471. INTERNET, THE DOMAIN-NAME

2472. SYSTEM, AND SO MUCH THAT MAKES

2473. IT FREE AND OPEN IN THE NAME OF

2474. FIGHTING PIRACY.

2475. AND AARON GOT THAT RIGHT AWAY.

2476. THE FREEDOMS GUARANTEED IN

2477. OUR CONSTITUTION, THE FREEDOMS

2478. OUR COUNTRY HAD BEEN BUILT ON

2479. WOULD BE SUDDENLY DELETED.

2480. NEW TECHNOLOGY INSTEAD OF

2481. BRINGING US GREATER FREEDOM

2482. WOULD HAVE SNUFFED OUT

2483. FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS WE'D ALWAYS

2484. TAKEN FOR GRANTED.

2485. AND I REALIZED THAT DAY TALKING

2486. TO PETER THAT I COULDN'T LET

2487. THAT HAPPEN.

2488. WHEN SOPA WAS INTRODUCED IN

2489. OCTOBER 2011, IT WAS CONSIDERED

2490. INEVITABLE.

2491. OUR STRATEGY WHEN IT FIRST CAME

2492. OUT WAS TO HOPEFULLY SLOW THE

2493. BILL DOWN, MAYBE WEAKEN IT A

2494. LITTLE BIT.

2495. BUT EVEN WE DIDN'T THINK THAT WE

2496. WOULD BE ABLE TO STOP THIS BILL.

2497. HAVING WORKED IN WASHINGTON,

2498. WHAT YOU LEARN IS THAT TYPICALLY

2499. IN WASHINGTON, THE LEGISLATIVE

2500. FIGHTS ARE FIGHTS BETWEEN

2501. DIFFERENT SETS OF CORPORATE

2502. MONEY INTERESTS.

2503. THEY'RE ALL DUKING IT OUT TO

2504. PASS LEGISLATION.

2505. AND THE FIGHTS THAT ARE THE

2506. CLOSEST ARE WHEN YOU HAVE ONE

2507. SET OF CORPORATE INTERESTS

2508. AGAINST ANOTHER SET OF CORPORATE

2509. INTERESTS AND THEY'RE

2510. FINANCIALLY EQUALLY MATCHED IN

2511. TERMS OF CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS

2512. AND LOBBYING.

2513. THOSE ARE THE CLOSEST ONES.

2514. THE ONES THAT AREN'T EVEN FIGHTS

2515. TYPICALLY ARE ONES WHERE ALL THE

2516. MONEY IS ON ONE SIDE, ALL THE

2517. CORPORATIONS ARE ON ONE SIDE,

2518. AND IT'S JUST MILLIONS OF PEOPLE

2519. ON THE OTHER SIDE.

2520. HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHING LIKE

2521. PIPA AND SOPA IN ALL MY TIME IN

2522. PUBLIC SERVICE.

2523. THERE WERE MORE THAN 40

2524. UNITED STATES SENATORS ON THAT

2525. BILL AS CO-SPONSORS, SO THEY

2526. WERE ALREADY A LONG, LONG WAY TO

2527. GETTING THE 60 VOTES TO HAVE IT

2528. CLEAR ALL THE PROCEDURAL HOOPS.

2529. EVEN I BEGAN TO DOUBT MYSELF.

2530. IT WAS A ROUGH PERIOD.

2531. SWARTZ AND DEMAND PROGRESS

2532. WERE ABLE TO MARSHAL ENORMOUS

2533. SUPPORT USING TRADITIONAL

2534. OUTREACH COMBINED WITH COMMONLY

2535. USED VOICEOVER I.P. TO MAKE IT

2536. VERY EASY FOR PEOPLE TO CALL

2537. CONGRESS.

2538. I HAVE NEVER MET ANYBODY ELSE

2539. WHO WAS ABLE TO OPERATE AT HIS

2540. LEVEL BOTH ON THE TECHNOLOGICAL

2541. SIDE AND ON THE

2542. CAMPAIGN-STRATEGY SIDE.

2543. MILLIONS OF PEOPLE CONTACTED

2544. CONGRESS AND SIGNED ANTI-SOPA

2545. PETITIONS.

2546. CONGRESS WAS CAUGHT OFF GUARD.

2547. THERE WAS JUST SOMETHING

2548. ABOUT WATCHING THOSE CLUELESS

2549. MEMBERS OF CONGRESS DEBATE THE

2550. BILL, WATCHING THEM INSIST THEY

2551. COULD REGULATE THE INTERNET AND

2552. A BUNCH OF NERDS COULDN'T

2553. POSSIBLY STOP THEM.

2554. I AM NOT A NERD.

2555. I'M JUST NOT ENOUGH OF A

2556. NERD.

2557. MAYBE WE OUGHT TO ASK SOME

2558. NERDS WHAT THIS THING REALLY

2559. DOES.

2560. LET'S HAVE A HEARING, BRING IN

2561. THE NERDS.

2562. REALLY?

2563. NERDS?

2564. YOU KNOW, I THINK ACTUALLY THE

2565. WORD YOU'RE LOOKING FOR IS

2566. "EXPERTS"...

2567. TO ENLIGHTEN YOU SO YOUR LAWS

2568. DON'T BACKFIRE AND BREAK THE

2569. INTERNET.

2570. WE USE THE TERM "GEEK," BUT

2571. WE'RE ALLOWED TO USE THAT

2572. BECAUSE WE ARE GEEKS.

2573. THE FACT THAT IT GOT AS FAR AS

2574. IT DID WITHOUT THEM TALKING TO

2575. ANY TECHNICAL EXPERTS REFLECTS

2576. THE FACT THAT THERE IS A

2577. PROBLEM IN THIS TOWN.

2578. I'M LOOKING FOR SOMEBODY TO

2579. COME BEFORE THIS BODY AND

2580. TESTIFY IN A HEARING AND SAY,

2581. "THIS IS WHY THEY'RE WRONG."

2582. THERE USED TO BE AN OFFICE

2583. THAT PROVIDED SCIENCE AND

2584. TECHNOLOGY ADVICE, AND MEMBERS

2585. COULD GO TO THEM AND SAY, "HELP

2586. ME UNDERSTAND XYZ."

2587. AND GINGRICH KILLED IT.

2588. HE SAID IT WAS A WASTE OF MONEY.

2589. EVER SINCE THEN, CONGRESS HAS

2590. PLUNGED INTO THE DARK AGES.

2591. I DON'T THINK ANYBODY REALLY

2592. THOUGHT THAT SOPA COULD BE

2593. BEATEN, INCLUDING AARON.

2594. IT WAS WORTH TRYING, BUT IT

2595. DIDN'T SEEM WINNABLE.

2596. AND I REMEMBER MAYBE A FEW

2597. MONTHS LATER, I REMEMBER HIM

2598. JUST TURNING TO ME AND BEING

2599. LIKE, "I THINK WE MIGHT WIN

2600. THIS."

2601. AND I WAS LIKE, "THAT WOULD BE

2602. AMAZING."

2603. CALLS TO CONGRESS CONTINUE.

2604. WHEN THE DOMAIN HOSTING SITE

2605. GoDaddy BECOMES A SUPPORTER OF

2606. THE BILL, TENS OF THOUSANDS OF

2607. USERS TRANSFERRED THEIR DOMAIN

2608. NAMES IN PROTEST.

2609. WITHIN A WEEK, A HUMBLED GoDaddy

2610. REVERSES THEIR POSITION ON SOPA.

2611. WHEN THE CONGRESS PEOPLE THAT

2612. SUPPORTED THE RECORD AND MOVIE

2613. INDUSTRIES REALIZE THAT THERE

2614. WAS THIS BACKLASH, THEY KIND OF

2615. SCALED THE BILL BACK A LITTLE

2616. BIT.

2617. YOU COULD SEE THE CURVE

2618. HAPPENING.

2619. YOU COULD SEE THAT WE WERE —

2620. THAT OUR ARGUMENTS WERE STARTING

2621. TO RESONATE.

2622. IT WAS LIKE AARON HAD BEEN

2623. STRIKING A MATCH AND IT WAS

2624. BEING BLOWN OUT.

2625. STRIKE ANOTHER ONE, IT WAS BEING

2626. BLOWN OUT.

2627. AND FINALLY, HE, LIKE, MANAGED

2628. TO CATCH ENOUGH KINDLING THAT

2629. THE FLAME ACTUALLY CAUGHT AND

2630. THEN TURNED INTO THIS ROARING

2631. BLAZE.

2632. ON JANUARY 16, 2012, THE

2633. WHITE HOUSE ISSUED A STATEMENT

2634. SAYING THEY DIDN'T SUPPORT THE

2635. BILL.

2636. AND THEN THIS HAPPENED.

2637. I'M A BIG BELIEVER THAT WE

2638. SHOULD BE DEALING WITH ISSUES OF

2639. PIRACY AND WE SHOULD DEAL WITH

2640. THEM IN A SERIOUS WAY.

2641. MM-HMM.

2642. BUT THIS BILL IS NOT THE

2643. RIGHT BILL.

2644. WHEN JIMMY WALES PUT HIS

2645. SUPPORT TOWARDS BLACKING OUT

2646. WIKIPEDIA, THE NUMBER-FIVE MOST

2647. POPULAR WEBSITE IN THE WORLD —

2648. THIS IS A WEBSITE THAT'S SEVERAL

2649. PERCENT OF ALL OF THE CLICKS ON

2650. ANYWHERE ON THE INTERNET.

2651. WIKIPEDIA WENT BLACK.

2652. REDDIT WENT BLACK.

2653. CRAIGSLIST WENT BLACK.

2654. THE PHONE LINES ON CAPITOL HILL

2655. FLAT-OUT MELTED.

2656. MEMBERS OF CONGRESS STARTED

2657. RUSHING TO ISSUE STATEMENTS

2658. RETRACTING THEIR SUPPORT FOR THE

2659. BILL THAT THEY WERE PROMOTING

2660. JUST A COUPLE DAYS AGO.

2661. WITHIN 24 HOURS, THE NUMBER

2662. OF OPPONENTS OF SOPA IN CONGRESS

2663. WENT FROM THIS...

2664. TO THIS.

2665. TO SEE CONGRESSMEN AND

2666. SENATORS SLOWLY FLIP SIDES

2667. THROUGHOUT THE DAY OF THE

2668. BLACKOUT WAS PRETTY

2669. UNBELIEVABLE.

2670. THERE WAS LIKE A

2671. 100-REPRESENTATIVE SWING.

2672. AND THAT WAS WHEN, AS HARD AS

2673. IT WAS FOR ME TO BELIEVE AFTER

2674. ALL THIS, WE HAD WON.

2675. THE THING THAT EVERYONE SAID WAS

2676. IMPOSSIBLE, THAT SOME OF THE

2677. BIGGEST COMPANIES IN THE WORLD

2678. HAD WRITTEN OFF AS KIND OF A

2679. PIPE DREAM HAD HAPPENED.

2680. WE DID IT.

2681. WE WON.

2682. THIS IS A HISTORIC WEEK IN

2683. INTERNET POLITICS, MAYBE

2684. AMERICAN POLITICS.

2685. THE THING THAT WE HAD FROM

2686. PEOPLE IN WASHINGTON, D.C., FROM

2687. THE STAFFERS ON CAPITOL HILL WAS

2688. THEY RECEIVED MORE E-MAILS AND

2689. MORE PHONE CALLS ON SOPA

2690. BLACKOUT DAY THAN THEY'D EVER

2691. RECEIVED ABOUT ANYTHING.

2692. I THINK THAT WAS AN EXTREMELY

2693. EXCITING MOMENT.

2694. THIS WAS THE MOMENT WHEN THE

2695. INTERNET HAD GROWN UP

2696. POLITICALLY.

2697. IT WAS EXHILARATING BECAUSE

2698. IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE IT ACTUALLY

2699. HAPPENED.

2700. IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE A BILL WITH

2701. SO MUCH FINANCIAL POWER BEHIND

2702. IT DIDN'T SIMPLY SAIL THROUGH

2703. THE CONGRESS.

2704. AND NOT ONLY DID IT NOT SAIL

2705. THROUGH, IT DIDN'T PASS AT ALL.

2706. IT'S EASY SOMETIMES TO FEEL

2707. LIKE YOU'RE POWERLESS.

2708. LIKE, WHEN YOU COME OUT ON THE

2709. STREETS AND YOU MARCH AND YOU

2710. YELL AND NOBODY HEARS YOU.

2711. BUT I'M HERE TO TELL YOU TODAY,

2712. YOU ARE POWERFUL.

2713. SAY, MAYBE SOMETIMES YOU FEEL

2714. LIKE YOU'RE NOT BEING LISTENED

2715. TO, BUT I'M HERE TO TELL YOU

2716. THAT YOU ARE.

2717. YOU A BEING LISTENED TO.

2718. YOU A MAKING A DIFFERENCE.

2719. YOU CAN STOP THIS BILL IF YOU

2720. DON'T STOP FIGHTING.

2721. STOP PIPA! STOP SOPA!

2722. SOME OF THE BIGGEST INTERNET

2723. COMPANIES, TO PUT IT FRANKLY,

2724. WOULD BENEFIT FROM A WORLD IN

2725. WHICH THEIR LITTLE COMPETITORS

2726. COULD GET CENSORED.

2727. WE CAN'T LET THAT HAPPEN.

2728. FOR HIM, IT WAS MORE

2729. IMPORTANT TO BE SURE THAT YOU

2730. MADE A SMALL CHANGE THAN TO PLAY

2731. A SMALL PART IN A BIG CHANGE.

2732. BUT SOPA WAS LIKE PLAYING A

2733. MAJOR PART IN A MAJOR CHANGE.

2734. AND SO, FOR HIM, IT WAS KIND OF

2735. HIS PROOF OF CONCEPT.

2736. LIKE, "OKAY, YOU KNOW, WHAT I

2737. WANT TO DO WITH MY LIFE IS

2738. CHANGE THE WORLD.

2739. I THINK ABOUT IT IN THIS REALLY

2740. SCIENTIFIC WAY OF, LIKE, I'M

2741. MEASURING MY IMPACT, AND THIS

2742. SHOWS THAT IT'S POSSIBLE, RIGHT,

2743. THAT THE THING THAT I WANT TO DO

2744. WITH MY LIFE IS POSSIBLE.

2745. I HAVE PROVED THAT I CAN DO IT,

2746. THAT I, AARON SWARTZ, CAN CHANGE

2747. THE WORLD."

2748. FOR A GUY WHO NEVER REALLY

2749. THOUGHT HE HAD DONE MUCH, WHICH

2750. WAS AARON, IT WAS ONE OF THE FEW

2751. MOMENTS WHERE YOU COULD REALLY

2752. SEE THAT HE FELT LIKE HE HAD

2753. DONE SOMETHING GOOD, FEELING,

2754. LIKE, HERE IS HIS MAYBE ONE AND

2755. ONLY VICTORY LAP.

2756. EVERYONE SAID THERE WAS NO

2757. WAY WE COULD STOP SOPA.

2758. WE STOPPED IT.

2759. THIS IS THREE OUTRAGEOUSLY GOOD

2760. VICTORIES, AND THE YEAR ISN'T

2761. EVEN OVER YET.

2762. I MEAN, IF THERE'S A TIME TO BE

2763. POSITIVE, IT'S NOW.

2764. YOU KNOW, HE WINS AT SOPA A

2765. YEAR AFTER HE'S ARRESTED.

2766. IT'S NOT AN AMBIGUOUSLY HAPPY

2767. MOMENT.

2768. THERE'S A LOT GOING ON.

2769. HE'S SO ATTUNED TOWARDS

2770. PARTICIPATING IN THE POLITICAL

2771. PROCESS, YOU CAN'T STOP HIM.

2772. THE LIST OF ORGANIZATIONS

2773. SWARTZ FOUNDED OR CO-FOUNDED IS

2774. ENORMOUS.

2775. AND YEARS BEFORE EDWARD SNOWDEN

2776. WOULD EXPOSE WIDESPREAD INTERNET

2777. SURVEILLANCE, SWARTZ WAS ALREADY

2778. CONCERNED.

2779. IT IS SHOCKING TO THINK THAT

2780. THE ACCOUNTABILITY IS SO LAX

2781. THAT THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE SORT

2782. OF BASIC STATISTICS ABOUT HOW

2783. BIG THE SPYING PROGRAM IS.

2784. IF THE ANSWER IS, "OH, WE'RE

2785. SPYING ON SO MANY PEOPLE, WE

2786. CAN'T POSSIBLY EVEN COUNT THEM,"

2787. THEN THAT'S AN AWFUL LOT OF

2788. PEOPLE.

2789. ONE THING THAT THEY SAID, "LOOK,

2790. YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THE NUMBER OF

2791. TELEPHONES WE'RE SPYING ON.

2792. WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY HOW MANY

2793. REAL PEOPLE THAT CORRESPONDS

2794. TO."

2795. BUT THEY JUST CAME BACK AND

2796. SAID, "WE CAN'T GIVE YOU A

2797. NUMBER AT ALL."

2798. THAT'S PRETTY — I MEAN, IT'S

2799. SCARY IS WHAT IT IS.

2800. WELL, THAT'S SCARY.

2801. AND THEY PUT INCREDIBLE

2802. PRESSURE ON HIM, TOOK AWAY HIS,

2803. YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE MONEY HE

2804. HAD MADE.

2805. THEY, YOU KNOW, THREATENED TO

2806. TAKE AWAY HIS PHYSICAL FREEDOM.

2807. WHY'D THEY DO IT, YOU KNOW?

2808. I MEAN, WELL, WHY ARE THEY GOING

2809. AFTER WHISTLEBLOWERS, YOU KNOW?

2810. WHY ARE THEY GOING AFTER PEOPLE

2811. WHO TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT ALL

2812. SORTS OF THINGS?

2813. I MEAN, FROM THE BANKS TO THE,

2814. YOU KNOW, TO WAR TO JUST SORT

2815. OF GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY.

2816. SO, SECRECY SERVES THOSE WHO

2817. ARE ALREADY IN POWER, AND WE ARE

2818. LIVING IN AN ERA OF SECRECY THAT

2819. COINCIDES WITH AN ERA WHERE THE

2820. GOVERNMENT IS DOING ALSO A LOT

2821. OF THINGS THAT ARE PROBABLY

2822. ILLEGAL AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL.

2823. SO, THOSE TWO THINGS ARE NOT

2824. COINCIDENCES.

2825. IT'S VERY CLEAR THAT THIS

2826. TECHNOLOGY HAS BEEN DEVELOPED

2827. NOT FOR SMALL COUNTRIES

2828. OVERSEAS, BUT RIGHT HERE FOR USE

2829. IN THE UNITED STATES BY THE U.S.

2830. GOVERNMENT.

2831. THE PROBLEM WITH THE SPYING

2832. PROGRAM IS IT'S THIS SORT OF

2833. LONG, SLOW EXPANSION, YOU KNOW,

2834. GOING BACK TO THE NIXON

2835. ADMINISTRATION, RIGHT?

2836. OBVIOUSLY IT BECAME BIG AFTER

2837. 9/11 UNDER GEORGE W. BUSH, AND

2838. OBAMA HAS CONTINUED TO EXPAND

2839. IT, AND THE PROBLEMS HAVE SLOWLY

2840. GROWN WORSE AND WORSE.

2841. BUT THERE'S NEVER BEEN THIS

2842. MOMENT YOU CAN POINT TO AND SAY,

2843. "OKAY, WE NEED TO GALVANIZE

2844. OPPOSITION TODAY BECAUSE TODAY

2845. IS WHEN IT MATTERS."

2846. THE PROSECUTION, IN MY

2847. ESTIMATION, OF AARON SWARTZ WAS

2848. ABOUT SENDING A PARTICULAR

2849. LASER-LIKE MESSAGE TO A GROUP OF

2850. PEOPLE THAT THE OBAMA

2851. ADMINISTRATION SEES AS

2852. POLITICALLY THREATENING.

2853. AND THAT IS ESSENTIALLY THE

2854. HACKER, THE INFORMATION, AND THE

2855. DEMOCRACY ACTIVIST COMMUNITY.

2856. AND THE MESSAGE THAT THE OBAMA

2857. ADMINISTRATION WANTED TO SEND TO

2858. THAT PARTICULAR COMMUNITY WAS,

2859. IN MY ESTIMATION, "WE KNOW YOU

2860. HAVE THE ABILITY TO MAKE TROUBLE

2861. FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT, AND SO WE

2862. ARE GOING TO TRY TO MAKE AN

2863. EXAMPLE OUT OF AARON SWARTZ TO

2864. SCARE AS MANY OF YOU AS POSSIBLE

2865. INTO NOT MAKING THAT TROUBLE."

2866. AND THE GOVERNMENT SAID, "OH,

2867. THE LEGAL OPINIONS WE'RE USING

2868. TO LEGALIZE THE SPYING PROGRAM

2869. ARE ALSO CLASSIFIED, SO WE CAN'T

2870. EVEN TELL YOU WHICH LAWS WE'RE

2871. USING TO SPY ON YOU."

2872. EVERY TIME THEY CAN SAY, "OH,

2873. THIS IS ANOTHER INSTANCE OF

2874. CYBER WAR" OR "THE CYBER

2875. CRIMINALS ARE ATTACKING US

2876. AGAIN.

2877. WE'RE ALL IN DANGER.

2878. WE'RE ALL UNDER THREAT," THEY

2879. USE THOSE AS EXCUSES TO PUSH

2880. THROUGH MORE AND MORE DANGEROUS

2881. LAWS.

2882. AND SO, JUST TO FOLLOW, LIKE,

2883. PERSONALLY, HOW DO YOU FEEL THE

2884. FIGHT IS GOING?

2885. IT'S UP TO YOU.

2886. YOU KNOW, THERE'S SORT OF THESE

2887. TWO POLARIZING PERSPECTIVES,

2888. RIGHT?

2889. EVERYTHING IS GREAT.

2890. THE INTERNET HAS CREATED ALL

2891. THIS FREEDOM AND LIBERTY AND

2892. EVERYTHING'S GONNA BE FANTASTIC,

2893. OR EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE.

2894. THE INTERNET HAS CREATED ALL

2895. THESE TOOLS FOR CRACKING DOWN

2896. AND SPYING AND, YOU KNOW,

2897. CONTROLLING WHAT WE SAY.

2898. AND I THINK BOTH ARE TRUE,

2899. RIGHT?

2900. THE INTERNET HAS DONE BOTH.

2901. AND BOTH ARE KIND OF AMAZING AND

2902. ASTONISHING.

2903. AND WHICH ONE WILL WIN OUT IN

2904. THE LONG RUN IS UP TO US.

2905. IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO SAY,

2906. "OH, ONE IS DOING BETTER THAN

2907. THE OTHER."

2908. YOU KNOW, THEY'RE BOTH TRUE.

2909. AND IT'S UP TO US WHICH ONES WE

2910. EMPHASIZE AND WHICH ONES WE TAKE

2911. ADVANTAGE OF, BECAUSE THEY'RE

2912. BOTH THERE AND THEY'RE BOTH

2913. ALWAYS GONNA BE THERE.

2914. ON SEPTEMBER 12, 2012,

2915. FEDERAL PROSECUTORS FILED A

2916. SUPERSEDING INDICTMENT AGAINST

2917. SWARTZ, ADDING ADDITIONAL COUNTS

2918. OF WIRE FRAUD, UNAUTHORIZED

2919. ACCESS TO A COMPUTER, AND

2920. COMPUTER FRAUD.

2921. NOW INSTEAD OF FOUR FELONY

2922. COUNTS, SWARTZ WAS FACING 13.

2923. THE PROSECUTION'S LEVERAGE HAD

2924. DRAMATICALLY INCREASED, AS DID

2925. SWARTZ'S POTENTIAL JAIL TIME AND

2926. FINES.

2927. THEY FILED A SEPARATE

2928. INDICTMENT TO ADD MORE CHARGES,

2929. AND THEY HAD A THEORY ABOUT WHY

2930. THIS CONDUCT CONSTITUTED A

2931. NUMBER OF FEDERAL CRIMES AND

2932. THAT A VERY SIGNIFICANT SENTENCE

2933. COULD ATTACH TO IT UNDER THE

2934. LAW.

2935. THAT THEORY AND MUCH OF THE

2936. PROSECUTION'S CASE AGAINST

2937. SWARTZ INVOLVED A LAW CREATED

2938. ORIGINALLY IN 1986.

2939. IT IS CALLED THE

2940. COMPUTER FRAUD AND ABUSE ACT.

2941. THE COMPUTER FRAUD AND ABUSE

2942. ACT WAS INSPIRED BY THE MOVIE

2943. "WarGames" WITH

2944. MATTHEW BRODERICK, WHICH WAS A

2945. GREAT MOVIE.

2946. I HAVE YOU NOW.

2947. IN THIS MOVIE, A KID GETS THE

2948. ABILITY THROUGH THE MAGIC OF

2949. COMPUTER NETWORKS TO, LIKE,

2950. LAUNCH A NUCLEAR ATTACK.

2951. YOU KNOW, THAT'S NOT ACTUALLY

2952. POSSIBLE, AND IT CERTAINLY

2953. WASN'T POSSIBLE IN THE '80s, BUT

2954. APPARENTLY THIS MOVIE SCARED

2955. CONGRESS ENOUGH TO PASS THE

2956. ORIGINAL COMPUTER FRAUD AND

2957. ABUSE ACT.

2958. THIS IS A LAW THAT'S JUST

2959. BEHIND THE TIMES.

2960. FOR EXAMPLE, IT PENALIZES A

2961. "TERMS OF SERVICE" KINDS OF

2962. ARRANGEMENTS.

2963. YOU KNOW, SOMETHING LIKE

2964. SOMEBODY SORT OF INFLATES THEIR

2965. OWN PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS.

2966. AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, DEPENDING

2967. ON THE JURISDICTION AND THE

2968. PROSECUTORS, THEY COULD BE IN A

2969. WHOLE HOST OF TROUBLES.

2970. WE ALL KNOW WHAT TERMS OF USE

2971. ARE.

2972. MOST PEOPLE DON'T READ THEM.

2973. BUT NOT ABIDING BY THEIR TERMS

2974. COULD MEAN YOU ARE COMMITTING A

2975. FELONY.

2976. THE WEBSITE TERMS OF SERVICE

2977. OFTEN SAY THINGS LIKE "BE NICE

2978. TO EACH OTHER" OR "DON'T DO

2979. ANYTHING THAT'S IMPROPER."

2980. THE IDEA THAT THE CRIMINAL LAW

2981. HAS ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT THESE

2982. KINDS OF VIOLATIONS I THINK

2983. STRIKES MOST PEOPLE AS CRAZY.

2984. THE EXAMPLES GET EVEN MORE

2985. CRAZY.

2986. UNTIL IT WAS CHANGED IN

2987. MARCH OF 2013, THE TERMS OF USE

2988. ON THE WEBSITE OF HEARST'S

2989. SEVENTEEN MAGAZINE SAID YOU HAD

2990. TO BE 18 IN ORDER TO READ IT.

2991. I WOULD SAY THAT THE WAY THE

2992. CFAA HAS BEEN INTERPRETED BY THE

2993. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT, WE ARE

2994. PROBABLY ALL BREAKING THE LAW.

2995. VAGUE AND PRONE TO MISUSE,

2996. THE CFAA HAS BECOME A

2997. ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL HAMMER FOR A

2998. WIDE RANGE OF COMPUTER-RELATED

2999. DISPUTES.

3000. THOUGH NOT THE ONLY FACTOR IN

3001. HIS CASE, 11 OF THE 13 CHARGES

3002. AGAINST SWARTZ INVOLVED THE

3003. COMPUTER FRAUD AND ABUSE ACT.

3004. THE QUESTION "WHY?" HANGS OVER

3005. MUCH OF THE STORY OF

3006. AARON SWARTZ.

3007. JUST WHAT WAS MOTIVATING THE

3008. GOVERNMENT, AND WHAT WOULD THEIR

3009. CASE HAVE BEEN?

3010. THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

3011. DECLINED REQUESTS FOR ANSWERS,

3012. BUT PROFESSOR ORIN KERR IS A

3013. FORMER PROSECUTOR WHO HAS

3014. STUDIED THE CASE.

3015. SO, I THINK I COME ABOUT THIS

3016. CASE FROM A DIFFERENT DIRECTION

3017. THAN OTHER PEOPLE ON A NUMBER OF

3018. REASONS.

3019. I WAS A FEDERAL PROSECUTOR WITH

3020. THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FOR THREE

3021. YEARS BEFORE I STARTED TEACHING.

3022. THE GOVERNMENT CAME FORWARD WITH

3023. AN INDICTMENT BASED ON WHAT

3024. CRIMES THEY THOUGHT WERE

3025. COMMITTED.

3026. JUST AS A PURELY LAWYER'S

3027. MATTER — LOOKING AT THE

3028. PRECEDENTS, LOOKING AT THE

3029. STATUTE, LOOKING AT THE HISTORY,

3030. LOOKING AT THE CASES THAT ARE

3031. OUT THERE SO FAR — I THINK IT

3032. WAS A FAIR INDICTMENT BASED ON

3033. THAT.

3034. YOU CAN DEBATE WHETHER THEY

3035. SHOULD HAVE CHARGED THIS CASE.

3036. THERE'S JUST A LOT OF

3037. DISAGREEMENT.

3038. SOME PEOPLE ARE ON, YOU KNOW,

3039. THE OPEN ACCESS SIDE.

3040. SOME PEOPLE ARE NOT.

3041. I THINK THE GOVERNMENT TOOK

3042. SWARTZ'S GUERILLA OPEN ACCESS

3043. MANIFESTO VERY SERIOUSLY.

3044. AND I THINK THEY SAW HIM AS

3045. SOMEBODY WHO WAS COMMITTED AS A

3046. MORAL IMPERATIVE TO BREAKING THE

3047. LAW TO OVERCOME A LAW THAT

3048. SWARTZ SAW AS UNJUST.

3049. AND IN A DEMOCRACY, IF YOU THINK

3050. A LAW IS UNJUST, THERE ARE WAYS

3051. OF CHANGING THAT LAW.

3052. THERE'S GOING TO CONGRESS, AS

3053. SWARTZ DID SO MASTERFULLY WITH

3054. SOPA.

3055. OR YOU CAN VIOLATE THAT LAW IN A

3056. WAY TO TRY TO NULLIFY THAT LAW.

3057. AND I THINK WHAT WAS DRIVING THE

3058. PROSECUTION WAS THE SENSE THAT

3059. SWARTZ WAS COMMITTED NOT JUST TO

3060. BREAKING THE LAW BUT TO REALLY

3061. MAKING SURE THAT LAW WAS

3062. NULLIFIED, THAT EVERYONE WOULD

3063. HAVE ACCESS TO THE DATABASE IN A

3064. WAY THAT YOU COULDN'T PUT THE

3065. TOOTHPASTE BACK INTO THE TUBE.

3066. IT WOULD BE DONE, AND SWARTZ'S

3067. SIDE WOULD WIN.

3068. THERE'S A BIG DISAGREEMENT IN

3069. SOCIETY AS TO WHETHER THAT IS AN

3070. UNJUST LAW, AND ULTIMATELY

3071. THAT'S A DECISION FOR THE

3072. AMERICAN PEOPLE TO MAKE WORKING

3073. THROUGH CONGRESS.

3074. AND THEN THE SECOND PROBLEM IS,

3075. I THINK, WE'RE STILL TRYING TO

3076. FIGURE OUT WHAT'S THE LINE

3077. BETWEEN LESS SERIOUS OFFENSES

3078. AND MORE SERIOUS OFFENSES?

3079. WE'RE NOW ENTERING THIS

3080. DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENT OF

3081. COMPUTERS AND COMPUTER MISUSE,

3082. AND WE DON'T YET HAVE A REALLY

3083. STRONG SENSE OF EXACTLY WHAT

3084. THESE LINES ARE.

3085. WE'RE JUST WORKING THAT OUT.

3086. THIS IS A POOR USE OF

3087. PROSECUTORIAL DISCRETION.

3088. THE HAMMER THAT THE JUSTICE

3089. DEPARTMENT HAS TO SCARE PEOPLE

3090. WITH, IT JUST GETS BIGGER AND

3091. BIGGER AND BIGGER.

3092. AND SO, MOST PEOPLE JUST, YOU

3093. KNOW, YOU CAN'T ROLL THE DICE

3094. WITH YOUR LIFE LIKE THAT.

3095. SHOULD WE TAP SOMEBODY'S

3096. PHONE?

3097. SHOULD WE FILM THEM?

3098. SHOULD WE TURN SOMEBODY AND GET

3099. THEM TO TESTIFY AGAINST THESE

3100. OTHER PEOPLE?

3101. THAT'S HOW FEDERAL AGENTS AND

3102. PROSECUTORS THINK.

3103. THEY BUILD CASES.

3104. THEY MAKE CASES.

3105. SWARTZ WAS CAUGHT IN THE

3106. GEARS OF A BRUTAL

3107. CRIMINAL-JUSTICE SYSTEM THAT

3108. COULD NOT TURN BACK, A MACHINE

3109. THAT HAS MADE AMERICA THE

3110. COUNTRY WITH THE HIGHEST RATE OF

3111. INCARCERATION IN THE WORLD.

3112. WE HAVE, IN THIS COUNTRY,

3113. ALLOWED OURSELVES TO BE CAPTURED

3114. BY THE POLITICS OF FEAR AND

3115. ANGER, AND ANYTHING WE'RE AFRAID

3116. OF, LIKE THE FUTURE OF THE

3117. INTERNET AND ACCESS AND ANYTHING

3118. WE'RE ANGRY ABOUT, INSTINCTIVELY

3119. CREATES A CRIMINAL-JUSTICE

3120. INTERVENTION.

3121. AND WE'VE USED JAIL, PRISON, AND

3122. PUNISHMENT TO RESOLVE A WHOLE

3123. HOST OF PROBLEMS THAT

3124. HISTORICALLY WERE NEVER SEEN AS

3125. CRIMINAL-JUSTICE PROBLEMS.

3126. THE IMPULSE TO THREATEN, INDICT,

3127. PROSECUTE, WHICH IS PART OF WHAT

3128. HAS CREATED THIS DEBATE AND

3129. CONTROVERSY OVER ONLINE ACCESS

3130. AND INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET,

3131. IS VERY CONSISTENT WITH WHAT

3132. WE'VE SEEN IN OTHER AREAS.

3133. THE ONE DIFFERENCE IS THAT THE

3134. PEOPLE WHO ARE USUALLY TARGETED

3135. AND VICTIMIZED BY THESE KINDS OF

3136. CRIMINAL INCARCERAL RESPONSES

3137. ARE TYPICALLY POOR IN MINORITY.

3138. SWARTZ'S ISOLATION FROM

3139. FRIENDS AND FAMILY INCREASED.

3140. HE HAD BASICALLY STOPPED

3141. WORKING ON ANYTHING ELSE, AND

3142. THE CASE WAS, IN FACT, LIKE,

3143. TAKING OVER SORT OF HIS WHOLE

3144. LIFE.

3145. ONE OF AARON'S LAWYERS

3146. APPARENTLY TOLD THE PROSECUTORS

3147. THAT HE WAS EMOTIONALLY

3148. VULNERABLE AND THAT THAT WAS

3149. SOMETHING THAT THEY REALLY

3150. NEEDED TO KEEP IN MIND SO THAT

3151. THEY KNEW THAT.

3152. IT WAS WEIGHING ON HIM VERY

3153. HEAVILY.

3154. HE DID NOT LIKE HAVING HIS

3155. ACTIONS AND HIS MOVEMENTS

3156. RESTRICTED IN ANY WAY.

3157. AND THE THREAT OF JAIL, WHICH

3158. THEY POUNDED HIM WITH A LOT, WAS

3159. TERRIFYING TO HIM.

3160. COMPLETELY EXHAUSTED HIS

3161. FINANCIAL RESOURCES, AND IT COST

3162. US A LOT OF MONEY, ALSO, AND HE

3163. RAISED A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF

3164. MONEY.

3165. SO, IT WAS, YOU KNOW, IT WAS IN

3166. THE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.

3167. THE LEGAL DEFENSE?

3168. YES.

3169. WAS IN THE MILLIONS?

3170. YES.

3171. YEAH, I THINK HE DIDN'T WANT

3172. TO BE A BURDEN TO PEOPLE.

3173. I THINK THAT WAS A FACTOR.

3174. LIKE, "I HAVE MY NORMAL LIFE,

3175. AND THEN I HAVE THIS SHITTY

3176. THING I HAVE TO DEAL WITH, AND I

3177. TRY TO, LIKE, KEEP THE TWO OF

3178. THEM AS SEPARATE AS POSSIBLE."

3179. BUT THEY WERE JUST BEGINNING TO

3180. BLUR TOGETHER AND EVERYTHING WAS

3181. BECOMING SHITTY.

3182. SWARTZ FACED A TOUGH CHOICE

3183. THAT WAS ONLY GETTING TOUGHER.

3184. DO YOU ADMIT GUILT AND MOVE ON

3185. WITH YOUR LIFE, OR DO YOU FIGHT

3186. A BROKEN SYSTEM?

3187. WITH HIS LEGAL CASE, THE ANSWER

3188. WAS SIMPLE.

3189. HE REJECTS THE FINAL PLEA DEAL,

3190. AND A TRIAL DATE IS SET.

3191. AARON WAS RESOLUTE THAT HE

3192. DIDN'T WANT TO KNUCKLE UNDER AND

3193. ACCEPT SOMETHING THAT HE DIDN'T

3194. BELIEVE WAS FAIR, BUT I ALSO

3195. THINK HE WAS SCARED.

3196. I DON'T THINK THEY WOULD HAVE

3197. CONVICTED AARON.

3198. I THINK WE WOULD HAVE WALKED HIM

3199. OUT OF THAT COURTHOUSE AND I

3200. WOULD HAVE GIVEN HIM A BIG HUG

3201. AND WE WOULD HAVE WALKED ACROSS

3202. THAT LITTLE RIVER IN BOSTON AND

3203. GONE AND HAD A COUPLE OF BEERS.

3204. I REALLY THOUGHT THAT WE WERE

3205. RIGHT.

3206. I THOUGHT THAT WE WERE GONNA WIN

3207. THE CASE.

3208. I THOUGHT THAT WE COULD WIN THE

3209. CASE.

3210. HE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT IT VERY

3211. MUCH, BUT YOU COULD SEE THE

3212. ENORMOUS PAIN THAT HE WAS GOING

3213. THROUGH.

3214. NO TIME IN HIS CHILDHOOD DID

3215. AARON HAVE ANY SEVERE MOOD

3216. SWINGS OR, LIKE, DEPRESSIVE

3217. EPISODES OR ANYTHING THAT I

3218. WOULD DESCRIBE AS SEVERE

3219. DEPRESSION.

3220. AND IT'S POSSIBLE, YOU KNOW, HE

3221. WAS DEPRESSED.

3222. PEOPLE GET DEPRESSED.

3223. VERY EARLY IN OUR

3224. RELATIONSHIP, LIKE THREE OR FOUR

3225. WEEKS IN OR SOMETHING, I

3226. REMEMBER HIM SAYING TO ME...

3227. THAT I WAS A LOT STRONGER THAN

3228. HE WAS.

3229. YOU KNOW, HE WAS BRITTLE IN A

3230. LOT OF WAYS.

3231. THINGS WERE A LOT HARDER FOR HIM

3232. THAN FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE.

3233. WAS PART OF HIS BRILLIANCE, TOO.

3234. I THINK HE PROBABLY HAD

3235. SOMETHING LIKE CLINICAL

3236. DEPRESSION IN HIS EARLY 20's.

3237. I DON'T THINK HE DID WHEN I WAS

3238. WITH HIM.

3239. HE WASN'T A JOYFUL PERSON, BUT

3240. THAT'S DIFFERENT FROM BEING

3241. DEPRESSED.

3242. HE WAS JUST UNDER SUCH ENORMOUS

3243. PRESSURE FOR TWO YEARS STRAIGHT.

3244. HE JUST DIDN'T WANT TO DO IT

3245. ANYMORE.

3246. HE WAS JUST — LIKE, I JUST

3247. THINK IT WAS TOO MUCH.

3248. I GOT A PHONE CALL LATE AT

3249. NIGHT.

3250. I COULD TELL SOMETHING WAS

3251. WRONG, AND THEN I CALLED, AND I

3252. REALIZED WHAT HAD HAPPENED.

3253. A CO-FOUNDER OF THE SOCIAL

3254. NEWS AND ENTERTAINMENT WEBSITE

3255. REDDIT HAS BEEN FOUND DEAD.

3256. POLICE SAY 26-YEAR-OLD

3257. AARON SWARTZ KILLED HIMSELF

3258. YESTERDAY IN HIS BROOKLYN

3259. APARTMENT.

3260. I JUST THOUGHT, "WE'VE LOST

3261. ONE OF THE MOST CREATIVE MINDS

3262. OF OUR GENERATION.

3263. IT WAS LIKE THE WHOLE WORLD

3264. FELL APART AT THAT MOMENT.

3265. UM...

3266. IT WAS ONE OF THE HARDEST NIGHTS

3267. OF MY LIFE.

3268. I KEPT SCREAMING, "I CAN'T

3269. HEAR YOU.

3270. WHAT DID YOU SAY?

3271. I CAN'T HEAR YOU."

3272. I CAN'T. THAT'S IT.

3273. UH...

3274. LIKE, YEAH, NONE OF IT MADE ANY

3275. SENSE.

3276. IT REALLY STILL DOESN'T.

3277. I WAS SO FRUSTRATED AND

3278. ANGRY.

3279. YOU KNOW, I TRIED TO EXPLAIN IT

3280. TO MY KIDS.

3281. MY 3-YEAR-OLD TOLD ME THAT THE

3282. DOCTORS WOULD FIX HIM.

3283. I'VE KNOWN LOTS OF PEOPLE THAT

3284. HAVE DIED, BUT I'VE NEVER LOST

3285. ANYBODY LIKE THIS.

3286. BECAUSE EVERYBODY FEELS — AND I

3287. DO, TOO — THERE'S SO MUCH WE

3288. COULD HAVE — MORE TO DO.

3289. LIKE, I JUST DIDN'T KNOW HE WAS

3290. THERE.

3291. I DIDN'T KNOW THIS WAS WHAT HE

3292. WAS SUFFERING AND...

3293. HE WAS PART OF ME.

3294. AND I JUST WANTED IT TO NOT BE

3295. REAL.

3296. AND THEN...

3297. AND THEN I JUST LOOKED AT HIS

3298. WIKIPEDIA PAGE, AND I SAW THE

3299. END DATE.

3300. "TO 2013."

3301. "AARON IS DEAD.

3302. WANDERERS IN THIS CRAZY WORLD,

3303. WE HAVE LOST A MENTOR, A WISE

3304. ELDER.

3305. HACKERS FOR RIGHT, WE ARE ONE

3306. DOWN.

3307. WE'VE LOST ONE OF OUR OWN.

3308. NURTURERS, CARERS, LISTENERS,

3309. FEEDERS, PARENTS ALL, WE HAVE

3310. LOST A CHILD.

3311. LET US ALL WEEP."

3312. MY FIRST THOUGHT WAS, "WHAT

3313. IF NOBODY EVEN NOTICES?"

3314. YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE IT WASN'T CLEAR

3315. TO ME HOW SALIENT HE WAS.

3316. I HAD NEVER SEEN ANYTHING

3317. QUITE LIKE THE OUTPOURING I SAW.

3318. THE NET JUST LIT UP.

3319. I MEAN, EVERYONE WAS TRYING

3320. TO — TO EXPLAIN IT IN THEIR OWN

3321. WAY, BUT I'VE NEVER SEEN PEOPLE

3322. GRIEVE ON TWITTER BEFORE.

3323. PEOPLE WERE VISIBLY GRIEVING

3324. ONLINE.

3325. HE WAS THE INTERNET'S OWN

3326. BOY.

3327. AND THE OLD WORLD KILLED HIM.

3328. WE ARE STANDING IN THE MIDDLE

3329. OF A TIME WHEN GREAT INJUSTICE

3330. IS NOT TOUCHED.

3331. ARCHITECTS OF THE FINANCIAL

3332. MELTDOWN HAVE DINNER WITH THE

3333. PRESIDENT REGULARLY.

3334. THE MIDDLE OF THAT TIME, THE

3335. IDEA THAT THIS WAS WHAT THE

3336. GOVERNMENT HAD TO PROSECUTE...

3337. JUST SEEMS ABSURD, IF IT WEREN'T

3338. TRAGIC.

3339. THE QUESTION IS, "CAN WE DO

3340. SOMETHING GIVEN WHAT'S HAPPENED

3341. TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER

3342. PLACE?

3343. AND HOW CAN WE FURTHER THAT

3344. LEGACY?"

3345. THAT'S THE ONLY QUESTION ONE CAN

3346. ASK.

3347. ALL OVER THE WORLD, THERE

3348. WERE STARTING TO BE HACKATHONS

3349. AND GATHERINGS.

3350. AARON SWARTZ HAS, IN SOME SENSE,

3351. BROUGHT THE BEST OUT OF US IN

3352. TRYING TO SAY, "HOW DO WE FIX

3353. THIS?"

3354. HE WAS, IN MY HUMBLE OPINION,

3355. ONE OF THE TRUE EXTRAORDINARY

3356. REVOLUTIONARIES THAT THIS

3357. COUNTRY HAS PRODUCED.

3358. I DON'T KNOW WHETHER AARON

3359. WAS DEFEATED OR VICTORIOUS, BUT

3360. WE ARE CERTAINLY SHAPED BY THE

3361. HAND OF THE THINGS THAT HE

3362. WRESTLED WITH.

3363. WHEN WE TURN ARMED AGENTS OF

3364. THE LAW ON CITIZENS TRYING TO

3365. INCREASE ACCESS TO KNOWLEDGE,

3366. WE'VE BROKEN THE RULE OF LAW.

3367. WE'VE DESECRATED THE TEMPLE OF

3368. JUSTICE.

3369. AARON SWARTZ WAS NOT A CRIMINAL.

3370. CHANGE DOES NOT ROLL IN ON THE

3371. WHEELS OF INEVITABILITY.

3372. IT COMES THROUGH CONTINUOUS

3373. STRUGGLE.

3374. AARON REALLY COULD DO MAGIC.

3375. AND I'M DEDICATED TO MAKING SURE

3376. THAT HIS MAGIC DOESN'T END WITH

3377. HIS DEATH.

3378. HE BELIEVED THAT HE COULD CHANGE

3379. THE WORLD.

3380. AND HE WAS RIGHT.

3381. OUT OF THE LAST WEEK AND OUT OF

3382. TODAY, FENCES ARE ALREADY

3383. RISING.

3384. SINCE SWARTZ'S DEATH,

3385. REPRESENTATIVE ZOE LOFGREN AND

3386. SENATOR RON WYDEN HAVE

3387. INTRODUCED LEGISLATION THAT

3388. WOULD REFORM THE

3389. COMPUTER FRAUD AND ABUSE ACT,

3390. THE OUTDATED LAW THAT FORMED THE

3391. MAJORITY OF THE CHARGES AGAINST

3392. SWARTZ.

3393. IT'S CALLED AARON'S LAW.

3394. AARON BELIEVED THAT, LIKE,

3395. YOU LITERALLY OUGHT TO BE ASKING

3396. YOURSELF ALL OF THE TIME, "WHAT

3397. IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING I

3398. CAN BE WORKING ON IN THE WORLD

3399. RIGHT NOW?

3400. AND IF YOU'RE NOT WORKING ON

3401. THAT, WHY AREN'T YOU?"

3402. I WISH WE COULD CHANGE THE

3403. PAST, BUT WE CANNOT.

3404. BUT WE COULD CHANGE THE FUTURE,

3405. AND WE MUST.

3406. WE MUST DO SO FOR AARON.

3407. WE MUST DO SO FOR OURSELVES.

3408. WE MUST DO SO TO MAKE OUR WORLD

3409. A BETTER PLACE, A MORE HUMANE

3410. PLACE, A PLACE WHERE JUSTICE

3411. WORKS AND ACCESS TO KNOWLEDGE

3412. BECOMES A HUMAN RIGHT.

3413. SO, THERE WAS A KID BACK IN

3414. FEBRUARY FROM BALTIMORE —

3415. 14 YEARS OLD — WHO HAD ACCESS

3416. TO JSTOR, AND HE'D BEEN

3417. SPELUNKING THROUGH JSTOR AFTER

3418. READING SOMETHING, AND HE

3419. FIGURED OUT A WAY TO DO EARLY

3420. TESTS FOR PANCREATIC CANCER.

3421. AND PANCREATIC CANCER KILLS THE

3422. SHIT OUT OF YOU, BECAUSE WE

3423. DETECT IT WAY TOO LATE.

3424. BY THE TIME WE DETECT IT, IT'S

3425. WAY TOO LATE TO DO ANYTHING

3426. ABOUT IT.

3427. AND HE SENT E-MAILS OFF TO THE

3428. ENTIRE ONCOLOGY DEPARTMENT AT

3429. JOHNS HOPKINS — YOU KNOW,

3430. HUNDREDS OF THEM — AND EVERY—

3431. 14-YEAR-OLD?

3432. 14-YEAR-OLD KID, YEAH.

3433. AND MOST OF THEM IGNORED IT,

3434. RIGHT?

3435. BUT ONE OF THEM, LIKE, SENT HIM

3436. AN E-MAIL BACK AND SAID, "THIS

3437. IS NOT AN ENTIRELY STUPID IDEA.

3438. WHY DON'T YOU COME ON OVER?"

3439. AND THIS KID WORKED EVENINGS AND

3440. WEEKENDS WITH THIS RESEARCHER.

3441. AND IN FEBRUARY, I HEARD HIM ON

3442. THE NEWS, JUST A COUPLE OF WEEKS

3443. AFTER AARON DIED WHEN AARON WAS

3444. IN THE NEWS A LOT.

3445. SORRY.

3446. AND HE SAID

3447. THE REASON HE WAS ON THE NEWS IS

3448. 'CAUSE THEY'D DONE IT.

3449. THEY WERE SHIPPING AN EARLY TEST

3450. FOR PANCREATIC CANCER THAT WAS

3451. GONNA SAVE LIVES.

3452. AND HE SAID, "THIS IS WHY WHAT

3453. AARON DID WAS SO IMPORTANT."

3454. BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW, RIGHT?

3455. THIS TRUTH OF THE UNIVERSE IS

3456. NOT ONLY SOMETHING THAT

3457. POLICYMAKERS USE TO FIGURE OUT,

3458. YOU KNOW, WHAT THE SPEED LIMIT

3459. SHOULD BE.

3460. IT'S WHERE THE THING THAT'S

3461. GONNA KEEP, YOU KNOW, YOUR KID

3462. FROM DYING OF PANCREATIC CANCER

3463. COMES FROM.

3464. AND WITHOUT ACCESS, THE PERSON

3465. WHO MIGHT COME UP WITH THE THING

3466. THAT'S GOT YOUR NUMBER ON IT MAY

3467. NEVER FIND THAT ANSWER.

3468. "HE SLEEP SO WELL, HE DIDN'T

3469. FALL OUT OF BED ONCE, NOT EVEN

3470. WHEN HE DREAMED HE WAS BACK ON

3471. THE SPACECRAFT."

3472. VERY GOOD, AARON!

3473. VERY GOOD! YAY, AARON!

3474. OKAY!

3475. NOW IT'S SONG TIME.