Source: RT.com
Filmmaker Brian Knappenberger is preparing to release a feature-length documentary on hacktivist Aaron Swartz. "The Internet's Own Boy" examines the life of Swartz and the pressures that resulted in his suicide after facing federal charges for downloading millions of academic articles from a Massachusetts Institute of Technology computer. Swartz has been credited with being an integral figure in the development of the internet during the last decade and a half, and is attributed with helping develop the web feed format RSS, the Creative Commons organization and the website Reddit. RT's Ameera David spoke with Knappenberger, who hopes his film with lead to reforms of the laws the government used to charge Swartz. -RT.com
Showing posts with label Aaron Swartz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aaron Swartz. Show all posts
The Day We Fight Back: Activism Sweeps the Internet With Global Action Against Mass Surveillance, February 11, 2014
Source: democracynow.org, thedaywefightback.org
Nearly a decade after the George W. Bush administration's warrantless spying program came to light, the issue of mass government surveillance has again sparked a global outcry with the disclosures of whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Leaks of National Security Agency files have exposed a mammoth spying apparatus that stretches across the planet, from phone records to text messages to social media and email, from the internal communications of climate summits to those of foreign missions and even individual heads of state.
Today privacy advocates are holding one of their biggest online actions so far with "The Day We Fight Back Against Mass Surveillance." Thousands of websites will speak in one voice, displaying a banner encouraging visitors to fight back by posting memes and changing their social media avatars to reflect their demands, as well as contacting their members of Congress to push through surveillance reform legislation.
The action is inspired in part by the late internet open-access activist Aaron Swartz, who helped set a precedent in January 2012 when more than 8,000 websites went dark for 12 hours in protest of a pair of controversial bills that were being debated in Congress: the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA). The bills died in committee in the wake of protests. We discuss today's global action with Rainey Reitman, activism director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation and co-founder of the Freedom of the Press Foundation. -democracynow.org
Nearly a decade after the George W. Bush administration's warrantless spying program came to light, the issue of mass government surveillance has again sparked a global outcry with the disclosures of whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Leaks of National Security Agency files have exposed a mammoth spying apparatus that stretches across the planet, from phone records to text messages to social media and email, from the internal communications of climate summits to those of foreign missions and even individual heads of state.
Today privacy advocates are holding one of their biggest online actions so far with "The Day We Fight Back Against Mass Surveillance." Thousands of websites will speak in one voice, displaying a banner encouraging visitors to fight back by posting memes and changing their social media avatars to reflect their demands, as well as contacting their members of Congress to push through surveillance reform legislation.
The action is inspired in part by the late internet open-access activist Aaron Swartz, who helped set a precedent in January 2012 when more than 8,000 websites went dark for 12 hours in protest of a pair of controversial bills that were being debated in Congress: the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA). The bills died in committee in the wake of protests. We discuss today's global action with Rainey Reitman, activism director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation and co-founder of the Freedom of the Press Foundation. -democracynow.org
Aaron Swartz's partner speaks out on activist's persecution, February 28, 2013
Source: RT.com
A Justice Department representative revealed in a recent closed door hearing on the computer fraud prosecution of Aaron Swartz that the Internet activist was indeed targeted because of his politics. In 2008, Swartz and others laid out their views in a piece called the "Guerilla Open Access Manifesto," which according to the prosecutors, demonstrated his intent in downloading content on a larged scale. Swartz was indicted with felony charges for illegally accessing academic articles but died of an apparent suicide last month awaiting trial. Swartz's partner, Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman of Sumofus.org, talks about the latest developments. -RT.com
A Justice Department representative revealed in a recent closed door hearing on the computer fraud prosecution of Aaron Swartz that the Internet activist was indeed targeted because of his politics. In 2008, Swartz and others laid out their views in a piece called the "Guerilla Open Access Manifesto," which according to the prosecutors, demonstrated his intent in downloading content on a larged scale. Swartz was indicted with felony charges for illegally accessing academic articles but died of an apparent suicide last month awaiting trial. Swartz's partner, Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman of Sumofus.org, talks about the latest developments. -RT.com
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