Aaron Swartz (1986-2013) was an American computer programmer best known for developing the RSS web feed and his contributions to Creative Commons and the Open Access movement. The rest of this post are some quotes from Swartz.
Open access
"Information is power. But like all power, there are those who want to keep it for themselves. The world's entire scientific and cultural heritage, published over centuries in books and journals, is increasingly being digitized and locked up by a a handful of private corporations." (Guerilla Open Access Manifesto, 2008)
"The Open Access Movement has fought valiantly to ensure that scientists do not sign their copyrights away but instead ensure their work is published on the Internet, under terms that allow anyone to access it." (Guerilla Open Access Manifesto, 2008)
SOPA / PIPA protest
"There's a battle going on right now, a battle to define everything that happens on the Internet in terms of traditional things that the law understands." (Freedom to Connect speech, 2012)
"This bill would be a huge, potentially permanent, loss. If we lost the ability to communicate with each other over the Internet, it would be a change to the Bill of Rights." (Freedom to Connect speech, 2012)
