The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz

Editor's Take

A biography of the programmer Aaron Swartz, the film follows his early hand in shaping RSS and Reddit and his turn toward campaigning for open access to knowledge. Through those who knew him, it recounts the federal prosecution over downloaded academic articles that shadowed his final years. It is plainly sympathetic to its subject, presenting his activism and his treatment as of a piece. The result is both a portrait of a gifted young man and an argument about how the law met him.

The Internet's Own Boy tells the story of Aaron Swartz, the programming prodigy who helped shape RSS and Reddit before becoming a fierce campaigner for open access to information. Through interviews with his family, friends, and colleagues, it follows his activism, the federal prosecution that pursued him over downloaded academic articles, and his death at twenty-six. The film is both a celebration of a brilliant young mind and a hard question about how the law treated him. It remains a moving landmark in the fight over a free internet. Free to watch in HD on Dr Documentary.

Courtesy of moviemaniacsDE on YouTube. Watch on YouTube ↗

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