In the Wake of Aaron Swartz's Death, Let's Fix Draconian Computer Crime Law
There should also be a push for better use of discretion and 'common sense' from the US judiciary. Most (all?) laws are, by their nature, crude sticks that have to be wielded carefully.I'm not sure that in this case, the law is 'wrong'. As has been outlined elsewhere, by a reasonable reading of the applicable law Aaron's actions were criminal and (in my opinion) the law itself, in spirit, is not unreasonable.What is unreasonable in this case, appears to be the application of the law, and more generally, the cost in time and money that is required to mount an adequate defence.It should never take two years and millions of dollars to have a case like this settled, one way or the other. It seems a basic violation of human rights that it could happen. This is the general problem that needs to be solved in the US.To end with a favourite quote that feels timely:"The fall of Empire, gentlemen, is a massive thing, however, and not easily fought. It is dictated by a rising bureaucracy, a receding initiative, a freezing of caste, a damming of curiosity - a hundred other factors. It has been going on, as I have said, for centuries, and it is too majestic and massive a movement to stop"-- Isaac Asimov, Foundation, 1951.Let's hope that's not entirely true.