Demand Justice for Aaron Swartz
Aaron Swartz, an Internet activist who worked for the open Internet, helped build many of the web technologies many of us rely on every day in order to help further an open Internet. He tragically committed suicide earlier this year after the U.S. government threatened him with 35 years in prison--just for engaging in civil disobedience for the open information movement. Demand Progress in collaboration with the Internet Defense League, including Open Media, are fighting back. Tell Congress to reform the CFAA, a law which makes criminals out of practically all of us. Demand Justice for Aaron and demand citizens' rights to fight for an open Internet and open information.
From Fix the CFAA:
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) is the law under which Aaron Swartz and other innovators and activists have been threatened with decades in prison. The CFAA is so broad that law enforcement says it criminalizes all sorts of mundane Internet use: Potentially even breaking a website's fine print terms of service agreement. Don't set up a Myspace page for your cat. Don't fudge your height on a dating site. Don't share your Facebook password with anybody: You could be committing a federal crime.
It's the vagueness and over breadth of this law that allows prosecutors to go after people like Aaron Swartz, who tragically committed suicide earlier this year. The government threatened to jail him for decades for downloading academic articles from the website JSTOR.
Since Aaron's death, activists have cried out for reform of the CFAA. But members of the House Judiciary Committee are actually floating a proposal to expand and strengthen it -- that could come up for a vote as soon as April 10th!
Add your name at right to join us in telling Congress to defeat the bill to expand the CFAA, and to pass a law to reform it to protect innovators and ordinary Internet users. If you have a website, please consider embedding our banner or widget on your site to encourage your visitors to join the cause.
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Find out more on this issue and how to take action at fixthecfaa.com
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