Aaron Swartz Gets Indicted on More Charges in Connection with MIT Break In

"He has apparently settled with JSTOR but not with U.S. prosecutors who indicted Swartz on charges of wire fraud, computer fraud, and unlawfully obtaining information from a protected computer."<p>Everyone theoretically "harmed" by his downloading of the material (all of which was available for free through the MIT Guest wireless network, just at lower speed) has put the incident behind them, but the feds believe their mandate is to nail his ass to the wall.<p>That's not the Academy's fault, and every free person should be pissed about it.

"My bet? Swartz is forcing the issue". My bet is that the Justice Department is still pissed at him for his role in liberating PACER (see <a href="http://gnat.me/sJAdUm" rel="nofollow">http://gnat.me/sJAdUm</a>). They'd been obstinately keeping judicial information under paywall lock and key, and were grumpy when he helped release that information (read the link for more). The FBI staked him out, and this set of indictments (where MIT and JSTOR have both made their peace with Swartz) reeks of vindictiveness. Anyone else, they'd have let it go by now.

It's cases like these that make Academia seem like such an antiquated idea. The fact that institutions support the locking away of research, much of which paid for by public funds and written by authors that intended fair use of their information, reeks of hypocrisy. The fact that no one in academia has spoke up on this case is damming to say the least. We as a society really need to rapidly come to the conclusion that not everything need be for a buck, especially when that something was paid for already via public funds and the true creators of that content never intended for these lech quasi-Academia organization, to be able to milk their work for generations.

Those new charges being: "...Breaking and Entering with Intent to Commit a Felony, Larceny over $250, and Unauthorized Access to a Computer Network..."<p><a href="http://www.wickedlocal.com/cambridge/news/x1655830732/Reddit-co-founder-indicted-in-connection-with-breaking-into-MIT-server-room#axzz1e0Ok1QTk" rel="nofollow">http://www.wickedlocal.com/cambridge/news/x1655830732/Reddit...</a><p>The earlier charges being: Wire Fraud, Computer Fraud, Unlawfully Obtaining Information from a Protected Computer, and Recklessly Damaging a Protected Computer.<p><a href="http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/217117-united-states-of-america-v-aaron-swartz" rel="nofollow">http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/217117-united-states-...</a>

:( Keep on fighting the good fight, aaronsw.

Wire fraud is a big one. Maximum of $1000000 fine and/or 30 years in prison.

Link appears broken as of now, FYI... (1:00 AM EST)

Is this data downloadable somewhere?

I think that hits it right on. Academia is as entrenched as most any powerful copyright holder.

Who is representing him? Lessig?