Aaron Swartz


Aaron Swartz is dead. He committed suicide yesterday, and the world has lost someone it shouldn’t have lost.

I didn’t know Aaron that well. We’ve spent some time together, and we work for the same company. I was hoping to one day actually be able to work on a project with him.

Aaron was a one of the people fighting on the forefront for Internet freedom and openness. His successes with PACER and SOPA, his work with JSTOR, DemandProgress and VictoryKit are all inspirations.

And here is the problem. In the words of Tim Berners-Lee: “we have lost a mentor, a wise elder”. There are too few like him. This is the time to step up and be part of the fight. The world is under constant attack. There are forces in the US that are a threat to every person on this planet. And the only way to stop it is for us to be more engaged.

I know I haven’t. But I will.