Reddit Co-Founder Aaron Swartz Indicted for Data Theft, Could Face 35 Years in Prison

[The Northerner]

Aaron Swartz, a 24-year old programmer who helped popularize nerd-news depository Reddit.com, was indicted on data theft charges (PDF) for illegally downloading over 4 million documents from JSTOR, a research database typically used in academia.

The New York Times' Bits blog has the scoop, reporting that if found guilty, Swartz could face 35 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.

“Stealing is stealing whether you use a computer command or a crowbar, and whether you take documents, data or dollars,” writes Carmen M. Ortiz, the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts in a press release.

Swartz is considered one of Reddit's co-founders, joining originators Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanianin when the company acquired Infogami in 2006. However, Swartz has had a murky history with Reddit, and was eventually asked to leave in 2007 for unspecified reasons. Swartz is also the founder of activist group Demand Progress, who run online campaigns to help promote policy change.

Read more: http://techland.time.com/2011/07/19/reddit-co-founder-aaron-swartz-indicted-for-data-theft-could-face-35-years-in-prison/#ixzz1Saq7z5ol

[WinkyDink]

1. How many years will Rupert get?

[The Northerner]

2. Isn't that a separate issue?

[surforegon]

3. The charges won't stick and

he was the head of Infogami but was never upper level nor involved with reddit except for getting paid.
Not that I care about reddit, the ginger of the internet...