[Vision2020] Institute for Public Accuracy: Internet Activist Swartz's Death a Product of "Prosecutorial Overreach"

[Ted Moffett]

Institute for Public Accuracy
980 National Press Building, Washington, D.C. 20045
(202) 347-0020 * http://www.accuracy.org * ipa at accuracy.org
___________________________________________________

           Monday, January 14, 2013

           Internet Activist Swartz's Death a Product of "Prosecutorial
Overreach"

The Guardian reports in "Aaron Swartz's Family Condemns MIT and U.S.
Government After his
Death<http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/jan/13/aaron-swartz-family-mit-government>,"
which states: "The family of celebrated Internet activist Aaron Swartz has
accused prosecutors and MIT officials of being complicit in his death,
blaming the apparent suicide on the pursuit of a young man over 'an alleged
crime that had no victims.'

"In a statement released late Saturday, Swartz's parents, Robert and Susan,
siblings Noah and Ben and partner Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman said the
Redditt builder's demise was not just a 'personal tragedy' but 'the product
of a criminal justice system rife with intimidation and prosecutorial
overreach.'

"They also attacked the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for not
supporting the Internet activist in his legal battles and refusing to stand
up for 'its own community's most cherished principles.'

"The comments came a day after the 26-year-old killed himself in his
Brooklyn apartment on Friday night.

"A committed advocate for the freedom of information over the Internet,
Swartz had been facing a trial over allegations of hacking related to the
downloading of millions of documents from the online research group JSTOR.
Swartz pleaded not guilty last year; if convicted, he could have faced a
lengthy prison term.

"News of his death resulted in an outpouring of tributes over the Internet.
..."

*Time* magazine notes the president of MIT Sunday night announced an
internal investigation to assess MIT's conduct in the
case<http://business.time.com/2013/01/14/mit-orders-review-of-aaron-swartz-suicide-as-soul-searching-begins/>.


LAWRENCE LESSIG, lessig at pobox.com, @lessig <https://twitter.com/lessig>
    Available for a limited number of interviews, Lessig is a professor at
Harvard Law School and author of numerous books on Internet freedom. He was
a friend of Swartz and is very familiar with his case. Just after Swartz's
death, Lessig wrote the piece "Prosecutor as
Bully<http://lessig.tumblr.com/post/40347463044/prosecutor-as-bully>
."

KEVIN GOSZTOLA, kevin.gosztola at firedoglake.com,
@kgosztola<https://twitter.com/kgosztola>
    Gosztola wrote the piece "Reactions to the Death of Internet Activist
Aaron Swartz<http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2013/01/12/reactions-to-the-death-of-internet-activist-aaron-swartz/>,"
which states: "JSTOR had settled with Swartz and they were ready to move
onward. It was the government that would not let parties put what Swartz
did behind them."

    He just wrote the article "How the Government’s Prosecution of Aaron
Swartz Pushed Him Toward
Death<http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2013/01/14/how-the-governments-prosecution-of-aaron-swartz-pushed-him-toward-death/>,"
and said today: "The government chose to make an example out of him. The
government thought there needed to be a case that could become precedent
and clearly demonstrate to the public that information was not free.
Intellectual property must be respected and individuals cannot be allowed
to take advantage of 'loopholes' to share knowledge.

    "Just as the government sought to make an example out of NSA
whistleblower Thomas Drake, made an example out of former CIA officer John
Kiriakou for 'leaking' a name of an agent and is making an example out of
Pfc. Bradley Manning for allegedly providing classified and non-classified
information to WikiLeaks, it pursued Swartz hoping to convict him and set a
precedent that would limit Internet freedom and the free flow of
information. Meanwhile, banks like HSBC received no jail time for terrorist
financing, not a single person from a Big Bank on Wall Street was
prosecuted for major financial crimes that led to the 2008 economic
collapse and those in the intelligence community who authorized torture
were allowed to roam free.

    "Do not expect this to change. The government will continue to take up
cases against Internet activists who do no real harm, while looking the
other way as white collar criminals and war criminals receive accolades,
enjoy prestige and success and benefit from government welfare." Gosztola is
co-author of *Truth & Consequences: The U.S. vs. Bradley Manning*.

In May, 2012, Swartz gave the keynote address "How We Stopped SOPA [Stop
Online Piracy Act]" at the Freedom to Connect conference.
[Video<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgh2dFngFsg>
]

For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167
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Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett
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