He was one of the people who helped create RSS when he was fourteen years old, and he went on to play a significant part in founding the company that would ultimately become the well-known social media site Reddit. Authorities on Saturday verified that internet activist Aaron Swartz was found dead in his Brooklyn home. 7:42 p.m., he was 26 years old. update: Swartz will be honored for his extraordinary knowledge of technology.
In an interview with All Things Considered presenter Jacki Lyden, James Fallows of The Atlantic said that Swartz had a large number of supporters in the IT sector who held him in high regard for his remarkable technical abilities. According to Fallows, Swartz had a significant effect on conversations about the social, cultural, and political implications of technology. 7:21 p.m. revision: Family Statement:
In a statement, Swartz’s girlfriend and family expressed their deep shock and sadness at his suicide. According to the statement, intimidation and overzealous prosecution within the criminal justice system are the main causes of Swartz’s death. This is a reference to a lawsuit that Swartz was involved in, when he was charged with stealing documents from the JSTOR research repository and MIT. According to the family’s statement:
“Decisions made by officials at MIT and the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s office had an impact on the individual’s death.” To punish an alleged behavior that did not do damage to anybody, the US Attorney’s office pursued a wide variety of charges that could carry a sentence of more than 30 years in prison. But unlike JSTOR, MIT refused to stand by Aaron and the core principles of its own community.
They praised his extraordinary intelligence, inventiveness, and insatiable curiosity as well as his unrelenting commitment to advancing justice and equality. A website was created to make it easier for people to share memories and tributes. According to a spokesperson for the New York medical examiner, Swartz committed himself. His uncle was able to confirm this information by reading an article about his passing in The Tech, the student newspaper at MIT.
Thanks to his proficiency with digital technology, Swartz transitioned from being an online business to an activist. He is one of the co-founders of Demand Progress, a group that promotes progressive laws and regulations, particularly those that fight internet censorship.
His campaigns enhanced his status as a semi-legendary character, but they also led to conflicts with the law. He was the subject of an FBI investigation, according to a 2009 CNN story, when he made a significant amount of U.S. federal court papers available online. Despite the fact that he was not charged in that specific case, he posted his FBI file on the internet on October 5, 2009; it seems he requested it from the agency.
Online remembrances of Swartz are multiplying as word of his death spreads. A friend and coworker named Lawrence Lessig vehemently denounced the prosecution in the case for their “bullying” of Swartz. Cory Doctorow of Boing Boing candidly examines his friend’s long-term battle with depression, a subject that author Tony Schwartz has openly addressed. Many people have turned to Reddit, the website that Aaron Swartz founded, to honor his memory and express their sorrow.
