Look Who it Was Random video

Why Did Aaron Swartz Face More Prison Time Than Killers

179 views · Published 19 March 2013 · 4:23 · Indexed 13 October 2026

Channel: Digital Wraith · 2013 · Education

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"On Friday, Internet pioneer and open information activist Aaron Swartz took his own life at the age of 26. At the time of his death, Swartz was under indictment for logging into JSTOR, a database of scholarly articles, and rapidly downloading those articles with the intent to make them public. If Swartz had lived to be convicted of the charges against him, he faced 50 years or more in a federal prison."*

Aaron Swartz was a brilliant hacktivist who stood for the spread of knowledge before he committed suicide at 26. He was facing more prison time for spreading academic articles on the internet publicly. What was it about Swartz that threatened the federal government so much? Cenk Uygur breaks it down. 

*Read more from Ian Millhiser/ Think Progress:
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/01/14/1441211/killers-slavers-and-bank-robbers-all-face-less-severe-prison-terms-than-aaron-swartz-did/?mobile=nc

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