Freedom of Information After Aaron Swartz

The untimely death of Aaron Swartz in January 2013 shined a light on information freedom issues in the United States. At the time of his death, Mr. Swartz was defending himself against criminal charges related to his acquisition and distribution of various articles from JSTOR without its permission. Federal prosecutors believed Aaron Swartz had crossed to the wrong side of the line between copyright holders and information seekers. Those interested in expanding access to information in all sectors followed his case closely because the decision in the Swartz case might set new precedent in intellectual property law.