Reflections on the Life and Death of ‘The Internet’s Own Boy’

As the open Internet and open culture movements come to terms with the tragic death of Aaron Swartz in January, 2013, and try to make changes to the law that allowed him to be prosecuted with such unbalanced fervor, a new film is about to be released focusing on the world that Aaron was trying to change. The Internet’s Own Boy will be available for download and shown in theaters June 27, 2014. Below we’re sharing a post written in the wake of Aaron’s death to give context to the film and the work that still needs to be done. ____________________________ by Sarah Armour-Jones (Originally posted January 15, 2013) The palpable anguish over Aaron Swartz’s death by suicide has elicited a torrent of tributes and reflections from within the tech, hacker, and participatory democracy communities that Aaron was part of. The grief at what the world has lost, and what we will never know we have lost, is intense, as is the anger at the archaic laws that allowed him to be persecuted, and prosecuted, so fervently. Tim Berners-Lee ‏/ @timberners_lee: Aaron dead. World wanderers,… Read More