Aaron Swartz, the young techie who committed suicide on the 11th of January represents a tragedy that could have been prevented if the Police had been more reasonable.It is alleged that the US prosecutors tried to demand higher punishments by invoking Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and thereby trying to enhance the possible punishment from around 6 months to 35 years.
Involvement of Swartz in the campaign against “Stop Online Piracy Act” (SOPA) made him a symbol of Internet activism which needs to be remembered by all Netizens.. See here for details
Though the prosecutor in the case denied that they tried to threaten the victim with over prosecution threat, the possibility of an unreasonable punishment appears to be a principal cause for the suicide.
This is indicative of what is in store for Netizens if they silently suffer the misuse of law from time to time. In India we have already been seeing how the criminal justice system is misused by politicians. If therefore Netizens donot organize themselves and fight against misuse of law by those in power, they will be unfairly exploited.
This AIFON therefore tries to lay the foundation for the development of an all India body of Netizens.
Naavi
