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Hackers Mark 1st Anniversary of Aaron Swartz Suicide

HeadlineJan 13, 2014

Saturday marked the one-year anniversary of the suicide of Internet freedom activist Aaron Swartz. Swartz took his own life weeks before he was set to go to trial for using the network at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to download millions of academic articles with the intent of making them freely available. He was facing 35 years in prison, a penalty supporters called excessively harsh. On Sunday, the hacker group Anonymous attacked a number of MIT’s websites and posted messages criticizing Swartz’s prosecution and calling for a reform of Internet regulation. The message said: “We call for this tragedy to be a basis for a renewed and unwavering commitment to a free and unfettered internet, spared from censorship with equality of access and franchise for all.” Over the weekend, a group of activists tied to Swartz also launched what they called the “New Hampshire Rebellion,” a two-week walk across the state to protest government corruption. The march will end on the birthday of Doris “Granny D” Haddock, who walked across the United States at the age of 90 in a bid to support campaign finance reform.

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