As a teenage programming prodigy, Aaron Swartz emerged on the tech scene at the tender age of 14 when he helped author the now-ubiquitous blogging technology RSS. Just a few short years later, he became a major voice for an open internet by helping to create the alternate-copy right platform Creative Commons, and co-founding Reddit. His unquenchable thirst for knowledge and passion for freedom of information set him on a path to become one of the pioneers of internet activism. But shortly after being prosecuted by the FBI for his efforts in making millions of academic articles publicly available, Swartz tragically took his life at the age of 26. Director Brian Knappenberger (We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists,”TCFF, ‘12) pays tribute to Swartz’s life in this timely, powerful documentary, a must-see for anyone invested in the future of a free and open internet.
Screens with:
The Reality FactoryBryan Boyce | USA | 1 min. | 2014