The Internet’s Own Boy

Programming prodigy and information activist Aaron Swartz has his fingerprints all over the internet—he was integral to the development of the basic internet protocol RSS and co—founded the global social news and entertainment website Reddit. But it was Swartz’s groundbreaking work in social justice and political organizing combined with his aggressive approach to information access that ensnared him in a two—year legal nightmare. It was a battle that ended with the taking of his own life at the age of 26.