Web genius and pioneer Aaron Swartz never should have faced prosecution.

His "crime" was violating the terms of service for an online academic library called JSTOR by systematically downloading content from the site.  Aaron did not profit, distribute or even read the articles he downloaded.  He even returned what he took.  JSTOR would eventually make millions of these articles free to the public.

It didn't matter.  Prosecutors following the letter of the law had charged Aaron with 11 violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) and 2 counts of wire fraud.  For a victimless, harmless act he faced 35 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

The strain of facing these heavy handed charges proved too much.  Aaron took his own life last month on January 11th.

Aaron's ordeal highlights what's wrong with the CFAA and it affects all of us that might breach a website's terms of service--that long fine print you "agree to" but never read.

According to Chris Soghoian, ACLU Senior Policy Analyst with the Speech, Privacy and Technology:

 "The offenses that Swartz was accused of were not motivated by profit, nor did they involve actual hacking.  Federal prosecutors could and should have shown restraint in their case against Swartz and instead focused their limited resources investigating other, more serious computer hacking crimes."


Let's help preserve the legacy of Aaron Swartz by reforming the CFAA.

SIGN THE PETITION NOW » https://www.aclu.org/secure/ask-congress-to-decriminalize-internet-terms-service