The Internet's Own Boy: Aaron Swartz

Name: The Internet's Own Boy: Aaron Swartz
Uploaded: 2014
Duration: 1 h 45 min

20141h 45mHD★ 8.5Technology

Editor's Take

Charting the life of the programmer who helped build RSS and co-found Reddit before devoting himself to open access, this film follows Swartz's activism, the federal prosecution over downloaded academic papers, and his death at a young age. It draws on those who knew him to build an intimate and sympathetic portrait. The film clearly takes his side in the fight over free access to knowledge, presenting his case as an argument as much as a biography. It is a moving account that doubles as a debate about information and the law.

The Internet's Own Boy charts the life of Aaron Swartz, the coding prodigy who helped build RSS and co-found Reddit before turning to activism for open information. Through interviews with those who knew him, it follows his fight for free access to knowledge, the federal case brought against him over downloaded academic papers, and his death at twenty-six. The film is both a tribute to a remarkable mind and a sharp question about justice and the internet. It is a moving portrait of a life cut short. Free to watch in HD on Dr Documentary.

Courtesy of Participant Media on YouTube. Watch on YouTube ↗

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