New America NYC: The Internet's Own Boy
A Socia Cinema screening in collaboration with Future Tense
Event
New America
The Internet’s Own Boy follows the story of programming prodigy and information activist Aaron Swartz. From Swartz's help in the development of the basic internet protocol RSS to his co-founding of Reddit, his fingerprints are all over the Internet. 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. Aaron's story touched a nerve with people far beyond the online communities in which he was a celebrity. The Internet’s Own Boy is a personal story about what we lose when we are tone deaf about technology and its relationship to our civil liberties.
Participants:
Brian Knappenberger
Director, The Internet's Own Boy
@knappB
Zephyr Teachout
Professor, Fordham Law School
@zephyrteachout
Justin Peters
Writer, Slate
Author, The Idealists (forthcoming)
@justintrevett
Jenna Wortham
Reporter, New York Times
@jennydeluxe