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February 11, 2014, the date the protest is scheduled, is a month after the one-year anniversary of the suicide of [[Aaron Swartz]], the founder of [[Demand Progress]].<ref name="PCWorld" /><ref name="MintPress News" /><ref name="International Business Times" /> At the time of Swartz's death he was being prosecuted with fraud for downloading research articles from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.<ref name="macfarquhar">{{cite news |url=http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/03/11/130311fa_fact_macfarquhar |title=Requiem for a dream: The tragedy of Aaron Swartz |work=[[The New Yorker]] |first=Larissa |last=MacFarquhar |date=March 11, 2013 |quote=[Swartz] wrote a script that instructed his computer to download articles continuously, something that was forbidden by JSTOR's terms of service....&nbsp; He spoofed the computer's address....&nbsp; This happened several times.&nbsp; MIT traced the requests to his laptop, which he had hidden in an unlocked closet.}}</ref><ref name="peters">{{cite news |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2013/02/aaron_swartz_he_wanted_to_save_the_world_why_couldn_t_he_save_himself.6.html |title=The Idealist: Aaron Swartz wanted to save the world. Why couldn't he save himself? |work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |first=Justin |last=Peters |page=6 |date=February 7, 2013 |quote=The superseding indictment ... claimed that Swartz had ‘contrived to break into a restricted-access wiring closet at MIT.'&nbsp; But the closet door had been unlocked—and remained unlocked even after the university and authorities were aware that someone had been in there trying to access the school's network.}}</ref><ref name="CBS_20120112">{{cite news |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57563656/co-founder-of-reddit-aaron-swartz-found-dead/ |title=Co-founder of Reddit Aaron Swartz found dead |work=CBS News |date=January 12, 2013 |accessdate=January 12, 2013 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20130113042659/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57563656/co-founder-of-reddit-aaron-swartz-found-dead/ |archivedate=January 13, 2013}}</ref> Many commentators viewed the prosecution, which would have imposed a devastating prison term for accessing information in bulk rather than one article at a time, as bullying that lead to Swartz's death.<ref name="lessig-obituary">{{cite web |url=http://lessig.tumblr.com/post/40347463044/prosecutor-as-bully |title=Prosecutor as bully |work=Lessig Blog, v2 |first=Lawrence |last=Lessig |date=January 12, 2013 |accessdate=January 12, 2013}}</ref><ref name="NYT2013">{{cite news |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/13/technology/aaron-swartz-internet-activist-dies-at-26.html |title=Internet Activist, a Creator of RSS, Is Dead at 26, Apparently a Suicide |work=[[The New York Times]] |first=John |last=Schwartz |date=January 12, 2013 |accessdate=January 13, 2013}}</ref> Swartz's father, Robert Swartz, said that "MIT betrayed all of its basic principles", and [[Noam Chomsky]] has stated that its role was primarily negative by failing to take action that could have mitigated the charges.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2014/01/11/mit-website-hacked-by-anonymous-announces-the-day-we-fight-back/ |title=Anonymous Hacks MIT Website in Memory of Aaron Swartz, Announces 'The Day We Fight Back' |work=BostInno |publisher=Streetwise Media |first=Lauren |last=Landry |date=January 11, 2014}}</ref> Swartz's brother, Noah Swartz, is "actively organizing" the February 11 event.<ref name = Goodman />
February 11, 2014, the date the protest is scheduled, is a month after the one-year anniversary of the suicide of [[Aaron Swartz]], the founder of [[Demand Progress]].<ref name="PCWorld" /><ref name="MintPress News" /><ref name="International Business Times" /> At the time of Swartz's death he was being prosecuted with fraud for downloading research articles from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.<ref name="macfarquhar">{{cite news |url=http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/03/11/130311fa_fact_macfarquhar |title=Requiem for a dream: The tragedy of Aaron Swartz |work=[[The New Yorker]] |first=Larissa |last=MacFarquhar |date=March 11, 2013 |quote=[Swartz] wrote a script that instructed his computer to download articles continuously, something that was forbidden by JSTOR's terms of service....&nbsp; He spoofed the computer's address....&nbsp; This happened several times.&nbsp; MIT traced the requests to his laptop, which he had hidden in an unlocked closet.}}</ref><ref name="peters">{{cite news |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2013/02/aaron_swartz_he_wanted_to_save_the_world_why_couldn_t_he_save_himself.6.html |title=The Idealist: Aaron Swartz wanted to save the world. Why couldn't he save himself? |work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |first=Justin |last=Peters |page=6 |date=February 7, 2013 |quote=The superseding indictment ... claimed that Swartz had ‘contrived to break into a restricted-access wiring closet at MIT.'&nbsp; But the closet door had been unlocked—and remained unlocked even after the university and authorities were aware that someone had been in there trying to access the school's network.}}</ref><ref name="CBS_20120112">{{cite news |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57563656/co-founder-of-reddit-aaron-swartz-found-dead/ |title=Co-founder of Reddit Aaron Swartz found dead |work=CBS News |date=January 12, 2013 |accessdate=January 12, 2013 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20130113042659/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57563656/co-founder-of-reddit-aaron-swartz-found-dead/ |archivedate=January 13, 2013}}</ref> Many commentators viewed the prosecution, which would have imposed a devastating prison term for accessing information in bulk rather than one article at a time, as bullying that lead to Swartz's death.<ref name="lessig-obituary">{{cite web |url=http://lessig.tumblr.com/post/40347463044/prosecutor-as-bully |title=Prosecutor as bully |work=Lessig Blog, v2 |first=Lawrence |last=Lessig |date=January 12, 2013 |accessdate=January 12, 2013}}</ref><ref name="NYT2013">{{cite news |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/13/technology/aaron-swartz-internet-activist-dies-at-26.html |title=Internet Activist, a Creator of RSS, Is Dead at 26, Apparently a Suicide |work=[[The New York Times]] |first=John |last=Schwartz |date=January 12, 2013 |accessdate=January 13, 2013}}</ref> Swartz's father, Robert Swartz, said that "MIT betrayed all of its basic principles", and [[Noam Chomsky]] has stated that its role was primarily negative by failing to take action that could have mitigated the charges.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2014/01/11/mit-website-hacked-by-anonymous-announces-the-day-we-fight-back/ |title=Anonymous Hacks MIT Website in Memory of Aaron Swartz, Announces 'The Day We Fight Back' |work=BostInno |publisher=Streetwise Media |first=Lauren |last=Landry |date=January 11, 2014}}</ref> Swartz's brother, Noah Swartz, is "actively organizing" the February 11 event.<ref name = Goodman />


In a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" discussion on January 10, 2014, a statement after which questions were fielded from readers of the site, organizers of the event identified themselves as
⚫
In an announcement of The Day We Fight Back on January 10, David Segal said in a statement,

* "[[Cory Doctorow]], writer, activist, editor of BoingBoing and close friend of Aaron Swartz"
* "[[Brian Knappenberger]], filmmaker of [[The Internet's Own Boy]] about Aaron, and [[We Are Legion]]"
* "[[David Segal (politician)|David Segal]], co-founder of [[Demand Progress]] with Aaron"
* "[[Peter Eckersley]] of [[Electronic Frontier Foundation|EFF]], and close friend of Aaron"
* "[[Sina Khanifar]] is a developer who's been behind many of the great activism sites of the last year or so, including https://TheDayWeFightBack.org/"

Comparing the opposition to surveillance to the previous defeat of SOPA, in which Demand Progress had been deeply involved, they called for a month of action culminating in February 11 protests which would be at once a commemoration of Swartz's death and an action against censorship and surveillance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1uw05k/aaron_swartz_passed_away_a_year_ago_tomorrow_we/|title=Aaron Swartz passed away a year ago tomorrow. We are Cory Doctorow, Brian Knappenberger, Peter Eckersley (EFF), and David Segal (Demand Progress) here to talk about Aaron and a protest we're organizing on 02/11 in his honor. Ask us anything. (self.IAmA)|author=Cory Doctorow, Brian Knappenberger, Peter Eckersley (EFF), and David Segal (Demand Progress)|publisher=Reddit AMA|date=2014-01-10}}</ref>

⚫
In announcement of The Day We Fight Back on January 10, David Segal said in a statement,
{{blockquote|Today the greatest threat to a free Internet, and broader free society, is the National Security Agency's mass spying regime. If Aaron were alive he'd be on the front lines, fighting back against these practices that undermine our ability to engage with each other as genuinely free human beings.<ref name="Motherboard, Vice">{{cite web |url=http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/internet-activists-look-back-at-aaron-swartzs-life-as-the-day-we-fight-back-approaches |title=Internet Activists Look Back at Aaron Swartz's Life as 'The Day We Fight Back' Approaches |work=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]] |series=Motherboard |first=D.J. |last=Pangburn |date=January 13, 2014 |accessdate=January 15, 2014}}</ref><ref name="net-security">{{cite web |url=http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=16199 |title=Privacy advocates announce day of protest against NSA spying |work=Help Net Security |date=January 13, 2014 |accessdate=January 15, 2014}}</ref>}}
{{blockquote|Today the greatest threat to a free Internet, and broader free society, is the National Security Agency's mass spying regime. If Aaron were alive he'd be on the front lines, fighting back against these practices that undermine our ability to engage with each other as genuinely free human beings.<ref name="Motherboard, Vice">{{cite web |url=http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/internet-activists-look-back-at-aaron-swartzs-life-as-the-day-we-fight-back-approaches |title=Internet Activists Look Back at Aaron Swartz's Life as 'The Day We Fight Back' Approaches |work=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]] |series=Motherboard |first=D.J. |last=Pangburn |date=January 13, 2014 |accessdate=January 15, 2014}}</ref><ref name="net-security">{{cite web |url=http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=16199 |title=Privacy advocates announce day of protest against NSA spying |work=Help Net Security |date=January 13, 2014 |accessdate=January 15, 2014}}</ref>}}


Revision as of 04:59, 8 February 2014

The Day We Fight Back
PredecessorProtests against SOPA and PIPA
FormationJanuary 10, 2014; 10 years ago (2014-01-10)
Legal statusad hoc
PurposeDigital privacy
AffiliationsDemand Progress, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Fight for the Future, Free Press organization, Reddit, Mozilla, and Boing Boing.
Websitethedaywefightback.org

The Day We Fight Back is a planned protest against mass surveillance by the National Security Agency (NSA).[1][2][3] It is being scheduled for February 11, 2014.[1][2][3] The protest is expected to take the form of webpage banner-advertisements urging viewers to contact their lawmakers over the issues surrounding cyber surveillance and a free Internet.[1][2][3]

The Day We Fight Back was announced on January 10, 2014.[2] It has been organized by David Segal, a former Democratic member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives and the executive director of Demand Progress.[4] Other groups involved in its promotion include digital rights groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Fight for the Future, and Free Press, as well as social media website Reddit, Firefox producer Mozilla, collaborative blogging website Boing Boing, and populist advocacy group The Other 98%.[1][2][3]

Background

February 11, 2014, the date the protest is scheduled, is a month after the one-year anniversary of the suicide of Aaron Swartz, the founder of Demand Progress.[1][2][3] At the time of Swartz's death he was being prosecuted with fraud for downloading research articles from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[5][6][7] Many commentators viewed the prosecution, which would have imposed a devastating prison term for accessing information in bulk rather than one article at a time, as bullying that lead to Swartz's death.[8][9] Swartz's father, Robert Swartz, said that "MIT betrayed all of its basic principles", and Noam Chomsky has stated that its role was primarily negative by failing to take action that could have mitigated the charges.[10] Swartz's brother, Noah Swartz, is "actively organizing" the February 11 event.[11]

In a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" discussion on January 10, 2014, a statement after which questions were fielded from readers of the site, organizers of the event identified themselves as

Comparing the opposition to surveillance to the previous defeat of SOPA, in which Demand Progress had been deeply involved, they called for a month of action culminating in February 11 protests which would be at once a commemoration of Swartz's death and an action against censorship and surveillance.[12]

In another announcement of The Day We Fight Back on January 10, David Segal said in a statement,

Today the greatest threat to a free Internet, and broader free society, is the National Security Agency's mass spying regime. If Aaron were alive he'd be on the front lines, fighting back against these practices that undermine our ability to engage with each other as genuinely free human beings.[13][14]

In the clip, Swartz comments on mass surveillance,

It is shocking to think that the accountability is so lax that they don't even have sort of basic statistics about how big the spying programme is. If the answer is, 'Oh, we're spying on so many people we can't possibly even count them,' then that's an awful lot of people." Five months after Swartz's death, the scale of a vast global surveillance program would be revealed in great detail through the release of top-secret NSA documents by Edward Snowden.[15] The film follows director Brian Knappenberger's recent op-ed documentary for the New York Times called "Why Care About the NSA?".[16]

Promotion

The day of action was promoted in a trailer for an upcoming documentary about Swartz, currently titled The Internet's Own Boy.[17] In the clip, the late activist comments on mass surveillance: "It is shocking to think that the accountability is so lax that they don't even have sort of basic statistics about how big the spying programme is. If the answer is, 'Oh, we're spying on so many people we can't possibly even count them,' then that's an awful lot of people." Five months after Swartz's death, the scale of a vast global surveillance program would be revealed in great detail through the release of top-secret NSA documents by Edward Snowden.[15]

On January 11, 2014, the MIT power cogeneration website at cogen.mit.edu was hacked to show an Anonymous themed graphic and the message, "REMEMBER THE DAY WE FIGHT BACK REMEMBER / WE NEVER FORGET WE NEVER SURRENDER EXPECT US / #OPLASTRESORT". The message appeared for two hours, after which the site was down for several days.[18]

Related events

Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! promoted The Day We Fight Back in an opinion article in the Athens News, noting Swartz's role in the digital rights movement calling for "another fight for the freedom of the Internet" without him.[11]

The hand and eye logo prominent in the event is recognizable from Stop Watching Us, an event supported by some of the same organizations that was held on October 26, 2013.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Gross, Grant (January 10, 2014). "Advocacy groups plan day of protest against NSA surveillance". PC World. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Rucke, Katie (January 14, 2014). "Activists Announce Day To 'Fight Back' Against NSA". MintPress News. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e Brown, Eric (January 14, 2014). "Reddit, Mozilla And Others To Protest NSA Spying, Honor Aaron Swartz On 'The Day We Fight Back'". International Business Times. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  4. ^ Yakowicz, Will (February 3, 2014). "Internet Activists Are Rallying Businesses to Protest NSA Spying". Inc.com.
  5. ^ MacFarquhar, Larissa (March 11, 2013). "Requiem for a dream: The tragedy of Aaron Swartz". The New Yorker. [Swartz] wrote a script that instructed his computer to download articles continuously, something that was forbidden by JSTOR's terms of service....  He spoofed the computer's address....  This happened several times.  MIT traced the requests to his laptop, which he had hidden in an unlocked closet.
  6. ^ Peters, Justin (February 7, 2013). "The Idealist: Aaron Swartz wanted to save the world. Why couldn't he save himself?". Slate. p. 6. The superseding indictment ... claimed that Swartz had 'contrived to break into a restricted-access wiring closet at MIT.'  But the closet door had been unlocked—and remained unlocked even after the university and authorities were aware that someone had been in there trying to access the school's network.
  7. ^ "Co-founder of Reddit Aaron Swartz found dead". CBS News. January 12, 2013. Archived from the original on January 13, 2013. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  8. ^ Lessig, Lawrence (January 12, 2013). "Prosecutor as bully". Lessig Blog, v2. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  9. ^ Schwartz, John (January 12, 2013). "Internet Activist, a Creator of RSS, Is Dead at 26, Apparently a Suicide". The New York Times. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
  10. ^ Landry, Lauren (January 11, 2014). "Anonymous Hacks MIT Website in Memory of Aaron Swartz, Announces 'The Day We Fight Back'". BostInno. Streetwise Media.
  11. ^ a b Amy Goodman (January 26, 2014). "Aaron Swartz: The life we lost and the day we fight back". Athens News.
  12. ^ Cory Doctorow, Brian Knappenberger, Peter Eckersley (EFF), and David Segal (Demand Progress) (January 10, 2014). "Aaron Swartz passed away a year ago tomorrow. We are Cory Doctorow, Brian Knappenberger, Peter Eckersley (EFF), and David Segal (Demand Progress) here to talk about Aaron and a protest we're organizing on 02/11 in his honor. Ask us anything. (self.IAmA)". Reddit AMA.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ Pangburn, D.J. (January 13, 2014). "Internet Activists Look Back at Aaron Swartz's Life as 'The Day We Fight Back' Approaches". Vice. Motherboard. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
  14. ^ "Privacy advocates announce day of protest against NSA spying". Help Net Security. January 13, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
  15. ^ a b Pengelly, Martin (January 11, 2014). "Hacking of MIT website marks first anniversary of Aaron Swartz's death". The Guardian. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
  16. ^ Knappenberger, Brian. "'Why Care About the N.S.A.?'". New York Times op-ed docs. NYT. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  17. ^ Zelman, Joanna (January 11, 2014). "Aaron Swartz Documentary Clip Reveals Activist's Thoughts On NSA, Pushes Day Of Action". The Huffington Post. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
  18. ^ Blue, Violet (January 11, 2014). "MIT website hacked by Anonymous on anniversary of Aaron Swartz suicide". ZDNet.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Day_We_Fight_Back&oldid=594471563"