Aaron Swartz Day Returns With Hackathons and Film Screenings Across the Country
Communities are marking what would have been the internet freedom activist's 40th birthday on November 8 with events celebrating his legacy in open-source software and digital rights.
November 8 marks the birthday of Aaron Swartz, the programmer and digital rights advocate whose death in 2013 at age 26 has been memorialized annually through Aaron Swartz Day celebrations worldwide. Had he lived, Swartz would be turning 40 this year—an age he might have joked about with the self-deprecating humor those who knew him remember. For those who came of age after his death, his contributions to open-source technology and internet freedom remain foundational to the digital landscape.
During his short career, Swartz left an outsized mark on the internet's infrastructure and culture. He was instrumental in developing the RSS web feed format, contributed to the technical framework underlying Creative Commons, created web.py as a Python website framework, and helped design Markdown. Beyond his technical work, Swartz served as a co-owner of Reddit before its 2006 sale and remained involved with the platform until his departure in 2007.
The trajectory of his life changed dramatically on January 6, 2011, when MIT police arrested him on state breaking-and-entering charges. Swartz had connected a computer to MIT's network and downloaded academic journal articles from JSTOR using a guest account the institution had provided. Federal prosecutors escalated the case significantly, bringing two counts of wire fraud and 11 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act violations that carried potential penalties including $1 million in fines, up to 35 years in prison, asset forfeiture, restitution, and supervised release—though some observers have suggested the actual exposure may have approached 50 years.
Swartz rejected a plea agreement that would have required him to serve six months in federal prison and admit to federal felonies. He countered with his own proposal, which prosecutors declined. Two days after that rejection, he took his own life in his Brooklyn apartment. The Internet Hall of Fame inducted him posthumously later that year, and in the years since, the technology and digital rights communities have largely regarded him as a martyr to the cause of open information and internet freedom.
This Year's Aaron Swartz Day Events
Two confirmed celebrations are taking place on Sunday: one in San Francisco and another in Portland, Oregon, though organizers expect additional events to occur in other locations.
San Francisco Hackathon
The San Francisco gathering will run from 10 am to 5 pm PST at 300 Funston Ave, with lunch service between 1 pm and 3 pm. Organizers describe the lunch window as the ideal time for those who want to "hang out, eat pizza, and be social" without committing to the full day.
At 2 pm, during the second hour of lunch, Danny O'Brien will make an appearance. O'Brien, a former Electronic Frontier Foundation staffer and Committee to Protect Journalists member who founded the Open Rights Group, will unveil a new project and pose the question: "what are *your* Terminal Values?"
Projects featured at the hackathon include SecureDrop from the Freedom of the Press Foundation, the EFF's Atlas of Surveillance, Onion Press, and multiple initiatives from the Internet Archive and Creative Commons. Two 30-minute AI Chatbot Workshops are scheduled: one at 11 am on building a low-touch travel assistant, and another at 3 pm on creating a voice agent for community use. Participants are also invited to bring color prints of their favorite Swartz photographs to contribute to a collaborative collage that organizers may repurpose for postcards and custom wrapping paper.
Attendance is free but requires an RSVP.
Portland Film Screening
Portland's observance will take a different form: a free public screening of "The Internet's Own Boy," a documentary examining Swartz's life, accomplishments, and struggle for an open internet. The screening begins at 2 pm at the 5th Avenue Cinema, located at 510 SW Hall St.
The event will be straightforward in structure, consisting of a brief welcome, the film itself, and a short closing. Organizers emphasize that "you don't need a technical background or any familiarity with Aaron's story to join us." Those interested in attending or seeking additional details should reach out to Edan Krolewicz at edan@portlandciviclab.org.
Remote Participation
For those unable to travel to California or Oregon, organizers have established a dedicated Aaron Swartz Day Discord server to allow remote participation in the celebrations.