Cambridge, MA — In less than three hours, more than 15,000 people have signed a letter of support for Aaron Swartz, posted at www.DemandProgress.org. This is part of a much broader outpouring of support for Swartz, who earlier today was indicted for allegedly downloading a large volume of scholarly journals from JSTOR. (JSTOR asserts that it was not harmed, and did not push for the prosecution.)

In the most comprehensive article on the case, Wired notes that according to the indictment:

Swartz used guest accounts to access the network and is not accused of finding a security hole to slip through or using stolen credentials, as hacking is typically defined. In essence, Swartz is accused of felony hacking for violating MIT and JSTOR’s terms of service.

TechDirt writes:

He wasn’t “stealing” anything or you would have charged him with theft. Actually, the stealing is stealing comment from US Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz is so chock full of wrong, it deserves special mention:

Stealing is stealing whether you use a computer command or a crowbar and whether you take documents, data or dollars. It is equally harmful to the victim whether you sell what you have stolen or give it away.

Downloading data made available on a network is not “stealing.” And he made copies of documents. He did not “take” them. JSTOR still had the documents. And, JSTOR doesn’t seem to be acting like a victim of “theft” here.

Talking Points Memo writes that the case “is sure to become a cause célèbre.”

Steven Levy, former tech editor at Newsweek tweets, “I’d tend to side with @aaronsw who I know as a patriot and relentlessly straight shooter.”

Demand Progress Executive Director David Segal noted, “We’re heartened by the outpouring of support for Aaron, and believe that as all the facts come out, Aaron will be cleared of any wrongdoing — for instance, the supposed “theft” entailed allegedly downloading scholarly articles that anyone could get access to, by going to the library. We encourage all who care to express their support for Aaron to visit www.DemandProgress.org.”

Demand Progress is an online activist organization with more than 500,000 members. It works to support civil liberties, Internet freedom, civil rights, and other progressive causes.

Press inquiries should be directed to demandprogressinfo@gmail.com or 571- 336-2637 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            571- 336-2637      end_of_the_skype_highlighting