The recent suicide of internet prodigy Aaron Schwartz has opened
the door for re-valuation of everything he has fought for and created, as well
as, the question of stealing, a common theme in piracy.
For those who are unaware, Schwartz was the co-founder of Reddit,
assisted with the college goes to site Wikipedia and towards the end of his
short life co founded Demand Progress, an activist group against online
censorship.
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| http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/12/us/new-york-reddit-founder-suicide |
“In 2011, he was arrested in Boston
for alleged computer fraud and illegally obtaining documents from protected
computers. He was later indicted in an incident in which he allegedly stole
millions of online documents from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.”
(Martinez)
His arrest was one of the biggest examples of government
verse pirates. It raised the question- what is stealing and how do we define
it. For Schwartz, this was his second
major “run in” with the government. Prior he was released from charges for
hacking a US government website and releasing documents because technically the
documents were public property and therefore free.
The issue in question was Schwartz motive with the
documents. It is believed they were to be placed on a p2p sharing website. So
where is the line drawn? Where does it stop from sharing amongst users to
stealing? Would we consider his actions stealing?
In essence yes- they are owned by MIT and therefore his actions could be
considered stealing. But this opens the door to “private” in the Internet. This is what is being puzzled over since his
death. Many argue that the death of Schwartz was due to the prosecutors trying to set an example through Swartz. Even
if this is true, a true internet prodigy and anti censorship activist has
created a stain on the control of the internet. Many are opposed and those who
were unaware , now know about the many actions the government is trying to
take. His death has everyone talking and the control of the internet is going
to be a hot topic for many years.
Next time: Fair use and royalties
http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/12/us/new-york-reddit-founder-suicide
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ReplyDeleteIf governments like what you’re doing, you’re a civil rights activist, and if they don’t, you’re a pirate and a thief. It’s that simple.
ReplyDeletebkassahu
This is a very personal and disturbing issue. I am old enough to have seen the proliferation of the internet, downloaded files using Hotline, Napster, Limewire and several bittorrent sites. I advocate for online privacy issues, I am against online government censorship and am pro-file sharing.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to Aaron Schwartz is a tragedy. I understand that the government wanted to make an example of him and would like to create accountability. I think the greater good is meet by leaving the internet the way it is. Private and organic.
i think this post shows that the government wants to control the Internet in general. the death of Aaron Schwartz is a tragedy; however, we can't blame the government for his death. In my opinion, it is just like having a bankrupty and blame the bank.
ReplyDeleteWhere you have the Internet, you will have fraud (whether you choose to call it that or not). The government, along with everyone else, needs to buck up and ensure that their documents are secure. Each person or entity knows (or should know) that anything on the Internet is fair game. Even the best of security systems can potentially be breached. That is today's world.
ReplyDeleteThis story is disturbing to me as well! I realize that the government is needing to protect their privacy of their documents, but hey....isn't everyone always talking about how important on-line security is?!? The government needs to take a page from their own book and practice what they preach! The government needs to realize that they need to protect themselves just like they are always telling us to do. Unfortunately, the tragedy with Aaron Schwartz will be around for quite some time and I hope that someone in our government has "learned" something!
ReplyDeleteI would consider his actions stealing. Because even though it was a public property it should not have been used for whatever reason he was planning it for. The government shouldn't have just used him as an example, but I feel some sort of punishment should have been done.
ReplyDeleteAll are valid arguments- Unfortunately his death opens the door to a lot of questions. He did "steal" essentially but at the same time the government should not have used him as an example- he should have been given a "fair " punishment- but then it also opens the door on how to punish for something that is technically public. It is a horrible situation and both are at fault. I think this topic is something that will used for both arguments for a long time- hopefully not a the same cost though.
ReplyDeleteI do not know all the facts about what happen. We have seen lately that our government will do almost anything to anyone who lets their secrets out. I think in the future nothing will be considered "privet." Companies and organizations are going to need one step ahead of hackers. Piracy will be the major problem for anyone who think they can protect a secret online.
ReplyDeleteJames Todd
People don't think about the consequences of their actions sometimes. While his death was unfortunate, he knew what he was doing would put him into trouble's way. I agree that the government treats some harshly to prove a point, but isn't that the purpose of the law; to try to disuade people from commiting crimes. Everyone tries to make it seem ok to themselves to steal online information, but would they break into a building in person to steal the same documents? It is essentially the same thing.
ReplyDelete