Aaron Hillel Swartz (November 8, 1986 – January 11, 2013) was an American computer programmer, entrepreneur, writer, political organizer, and Internet hacktivist.He was involved in the development of the web feed format RSS, the Markdown publishing format, the organization Creative Commons, and the website framework web.py, and joined the social news site Reddit six months after its founding. Aaron Swartz. While it includes a range of useful details, the most significant revelation is that — she believes … I believe that Aaron’s death was caused by a persecution and a prosecution that had already wound on for 2 years (what happened to our right to a speedy trial?) Powered by its own proprietary technology, Mashable is the go-to source for tech, digital culture and entertainment content for its dedicated and influential audience around the globe. and had already drained all of his financial resources. A few weeks ago, Internet activist and Reddit co-founder Aaron Swartz committed suicide. Swartz. MIT's president appointed a professor to lead an investigation into the school's role in Swartz's case and several lawmakers are demanding answers from the Department of Justice on its handling of the case. We're using cookies to improve your experience. Quinn Norton[2] (born May 1973) is an American journalist and essayist. . [24][25] Later that day, she and the Times announced she would not join the paper after all;[26] the Times said it had been unaware of her comments. Aaron Swartz real name was Aaron Hillel Swartz. 70 thoughts on “ My Aaron Swartz, whom I loved. He was Businessmen (Entrepreneur) by profession. [40] They have a daughter. It also made it clear that someone — or some people — handed over communications, including LISTSERVs, to DOJ. [11] She contributed regularly to the Wired blog, Threat Level, which focused on digital security. From 2013 to 2014, she wrote a column, Notes on a Strange World, at Medium. Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman says she is 'absolutely confident' that Swartz … [38] His response was met with a critical reaction. How wonderful that you poured your all into him and that you were touched deeply by his love. Not long after they moved in together, Norton became Swartz’s first girlfriend – a relationship that, fittingly for two eccentrics, began with an unconventional pact. Assistant U.S. Attorney for Boston Stephen P. Heymann hounded the Internet innovator, said Swartz's girlfriend, Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman, 31. He left no … Read full article. Was he or wasn't he depressed when he killed himself? Aaron Swartz, the late digital rights activist and hacker, did not kill himself because he was depressed, according to his girlfriend. Quinn Norton was born in May 1973. U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz, the leading prosecutor in the case, defended her office's conduct, calling it appropriate and revealing that they never intended to ask for the maximum sentence but just six months of prison. Sorry If You Don't Agree", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Quinn_Norton&oldid=998967849, 21st-century American non-fiction writers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 7 January 2021, at 21:40. [6] She sporadically sat in on classes at University of California, Los Angeles and University of California, Santa Barbara but was never formally enrolled. They have a daughter. is a global, multi-platform media and entertainment company. Aaron Swartz girlfriend blames suicide on 'vindictiveness' of prosecution. [39], Norton was married to journalist Danny O'Brien. Help us build our profile of Aaron Swartz! [23][29] She also said her friendship with Auernheimer (with whom she was no longer in contact)[24] had been an effort to discourage his racism. Aaron Swartz had always been ambiguous about marriage. I believe Aaron’s death was caused by exhaustion, by fear, and by uncertainty. Norton has spoken extensively on various aspects of technology, history and culture. Norton was married to journalist Danny O'Brien. In a heartfelt tumblr, the girlfriend of fallen Internet activist, Aaron Swartz, explained why she thinks he committed suicide. [14][15][16] From 2006 to 2008, she gave talks at technology conferences about body augmentation, usually under the title "Body Hacking. She grew up in a poor family. Last meal: Aaron Swartz and girlfriend Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman shared a dinner of his favourite foods on the night before he hanged himself ©2021 Prosecutors nevertheless attempted to use a public blog post on Swartz's blog that Norton mentioned, which may or may not have been co-authored by Swartz, as proof of a criminal intent. . [7], Norton began her professional life as a technologist when she worked as a SysAdmin and web programmer. [3][36][35], In October 2017, Norton wrote a piece about Robert Scoble that described an alleged sexual assault by Scoble on Norton as well as another woman. But last December, having dated his girlfriend Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman for 18 months, he seemed to be changing his mind. The document offered the prosecution additional evidence in their case against Swartz. "[19] As part of her research, Norton had a magnet implanted in the tip of her ring finger, enabling her to sense magnetic fields. Aaron Swartz, a wizardly programmer who as a teenager helped to develop a computer code that provided a format for delivering regularly changing … Tumblr Aaron Swartz and his girlfriend, Taren. The marriage ended in divorce. [24], Norton is an advocate of encryption when communicating electronically. Aaron Swartz and his girlfriend, Taren. [41][42], In 2016, Norton moved to Luxembourg to live with the man she eventually married in 2017. [8] In 2006, she shifted to journalism. Contribute. ", "The New York Times Fired My Doppelgänger", "A Conference on the Press, the Government and National Security: Prospects for a Federal Shield Law from Sources and Secrets", "Subpoena to Testify Before a Grand Jury: Quinn Norton", United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, "Editor's Note to Quinn Norton's Account of the Aaron Swartz Investigation", "Life Inside the Aaron Swartz Investigation", "Quinn Norton on sexual assault, community response, and restorative justice / Boing Boing", "I know it's mostly not cool to be a fan of 2016, but I wanted to let you all know it's not all bad: against all odds, I'm getting married", "#BlackGirlsAreMagic. Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman found Swartz dead in their Brooklyn apartment on Jan. 11, and as she explains, she is the person Swartz spent the most time with in the last 20 months of his life — living together, commuting together and working together. And there is also an article about an ex-girlfriend Quinn who wrote a beautiful article about Aaron. JULY 18, 2016], Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), "That Time I Tweeted About #BlackGirlsAreMagic", "My birthday I next month. Owen Thomas. Read about Aaron Swartz’s mother Susan here. She, like Swartz's father, believes the government indirectly killed Swartz. “Steve Heymann had … [31], Norton describes herself as an anarchist[32] and a queer activist. [41], Norton dated computer programmer and activist Aaron Swartz for roughly three years, from 2007 until early 2011. Aaron Swartz's Girlfriend Accuses MIT Of Dragging Its Feet On Investigating His Suicide. "If on January 10, Steve Heymann and Carmen Ortiz at the Massachusetts US Attorney’s office had called Aaron’s lawyer and said they’d realized their mistake and that they were dropping all charges — or even for that matter that they were ready to offer a reasonable plea deal that wouldn’t have marked Aaron as a felon for the rest of his life — would Aaron have killed himself on January 11? March 13, 2013, 5:41 PM. Since January 11, I think about it every hour of every day. "[17][18] In connection with this work, Norton taught a course at NYU titled "Laboratory of the Self. The girlfriend of Aaron Swartz has called an investigation into her late boyfriend's death a 'whitewash.' [33] She ultimately accepted a proffer agreement with the prosecutor, whereby she shared information about the Guerrilla Open Access Manifesto,[34] which defendant Aaron Swartz either wrote or co-wrote. [3] Her father's struggles with his experience post-Vietnam and his drug-related incarceration[4] inspired her to write later about judicial reform and restorative justice. MIT Concludes It Did Nothing Improper In Case Of Internet Activist's Aaron Swartz's Suicide — Swartz's Girlfriend Calls 'BS' Alyson Shontell 2013-07-30T17:57:00Z [20][21] The magnet was later removed. I don’t know exactly what was going through his mind. The marriage ended in divorce. I want something OTR-like for Twitter DM", "United States of America vs. Aaron Swartz, Defendant's Motion to Modify Protection Order", "Interview with our first Hack.lu 2016 Keynote - Quinn Norton", "Notes from a Strange World – A writer's attempt to understand a world being weirded by a network", "Talk: Quinn Norton, December 3, 2015 – DigLibArts", "NYU Tisch ITP People: ITP Community: Quinn Norton", "The NY Times Fires Tech Writer Quinn Norton, and It's Complicated", "Why a Tech Journalist Might Think It's Fine to Be Friends With a Neo-Nazi Troll", "After Storm Over Tweets, The Times and a New Hire Part Ways", "New York Times fires star writer after seven hours over homophobic and racist slurs", "The Quinn Norton Debacle Is Far From the Worst Thing the New York Times Has Done Recently", "Why Would a Tech Journalist Be Friends With a Neo-Nazi Troll? Swartz's girlfriend has now refuted those claims in a Tumblr post. Anonymous Hacks US Government Site, Threatens Supreme 'Warheads', are demanding answers from the Department of Justice. UPDATED: Aaron Swartz's body was found Friday by his girlfriend; the tech pioneer and activist had suffered from depression. He left no note in his New York apartment explaining his death. [9], In 2006, Norton described a conceptual prank called Quinn's Prank / Quinn's Symphonic Conundrum involving writing and executing a computer program that would output all possible melodies, theoretically providing the opportunity to claim copyright for all music. [30], In 2009, she opposed the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA). That's why she thinks the sole cause of his suicide was his criminal case. Government at fault: Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman, Aaron Swartz's girlfriend, had critical words for the U.S. Attorney's office in Boston. [22][43][44], ["Life in the Invisible City": Quinn Norton talk at Goldsmiths Ever since Aaron Swartz's tragic suicide, the web has been abuzz with how the prosecution went to great lengths to somehow put Swartz behind bars for a negligible crime. But Swartz's live-in girlfriend, Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman, doesn't think depression killed Aaron. Imaginative, smart about everything, and, … His family and supporters have been repeatedly pointing their finger at overzealous prosecutors to explain his suicide. Swartz, 26, left no note before his Friday morning death in the seventh-floor apartment at a luxury Sullivan Place building, police sources said. [22] The hire drew sharp criticism focused on tweets Norton wrote between 2013 and 2017, particularly use of slurs referring to gay people and her defense of her friendship with Andrew Auernheimer, a hacker and white supremacist[23] known as weev. [28], On March 3, 2011, Norton was subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury regarding an investigation of her then-partner Aaron Swartz that led to the case United States v. Mashable, MashBash and Mashable House are among the federally registered trademarks of Ziff Davis, LLC and may not be used by third parties without explicit permission. In 2018, The New York Times announced Norton as its new lead opinion writer covering technology. Mashable, Inc. All Rights Reserved. She was a long-time participant at O'Reilly's Foo Camp.[13]. A few weeks ago, Internet activist and Reddit co-founder Aaron Swartz committed suicide. [29] The incident led to debate over the ethics of free speech in the hacking community at large as well as Times social media policy. [10], Norton's work has appeared in Wired, where she spent a year embedded with Occupy Wall Street. Aaron Swartz was not married and didn’t have any children, there is some confirmation about who is Aaron Swarzs’ Terin who found him hanging. Her focus was initially on technology but eventually grew to encompass internet activism. “He turned to me,” recalls his girlfriend Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman, “and said, apropos of nothing, ‘This is going to be a great year.’ Swartz, 26, a prominent open-internet advocate who helped build Reddit and RSS, was found dead in the Brooklyn apartment he shared with Stinebrickner-Kauffman on January 11. "I don’t know exactly why Aaron killed himself. At the same time, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) has been working on reforming the Computer Abuse and Fraud Act, the 1986 law that was being used to bring charges against Swartz. [27] Calling the episode an example of "context collapse",[23] and describing herself as a member of the LGBT community,[28] Norton said her use of slurs had been specific to the context of engaging with the language of hackers. At the time of his death, Swartz was facing a potential conviction of 35 years and up to $1 million in fines for allegedly downloading thousands of scholarly articles from the online database JSTOR with a hidden computer connected to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's network. From a young age, he found himself fond of and adept with computers and the computing world. He was an admirer of Swartz, and following his death he wrote on Twitter, 'Heartbreaking news that my dear friend Aaron Swartz has died at 26. Swartz's uncle, Michael Wolf, told the New York Times that the programmer's body was discovered by his girlfriend inside his home in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn at around 9.30am. Aaron Swartz girlfriend blames suicide on 'vindictiveness' of prosecution. Aaron Swartz was many things, among which he was a programmer, a developer, an activist, an open source contributor, and a human. But Aaron Swartz’s сurrеnt girlfriend iѕ Taren Stinebrickner – Kauffman, thе person whо found him hanging frоm a belt inside hiѕ bedroom window in thе seventh-floor apartment аt a luxury Sullivan Plасе building, ѕhе called 911. A few weeks ago, Internet activist and Reddit co-founder Aaron Swartz committed suicide. Aaron Swartz helped create RSS, a now ubiquitous format, and later became known for his efforts to make many Internet files available free online. Aaron Swartz is a member of the following lists: American Jews, LGBT people from the United States and People from Chicago, Illinois.. Aaron Swartz was a 26-year-old programming wunderkind who committed suicide in … Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman says she is 'absolutely confident' that Swartz … With Aaron Swartz, Tim Berners-Lee, Cindy Cohn, Gabriella Coleman. Police went to the apartment after receiving a 911 call from Swartz's girlfriend, who found him. lydia January 12, 2013 at 8:31 pm. RELATED: A New Swine Flu; Rethinking a Once Wet Mars. At the Aaron Swartz memorial in New York on Jan. 19, a teary-eyed Stinebrickner-Kauffman revealed Swartz had told her he wanted to get married to her just two months before his suicide. He was the son of Robert Swartz (father) and Susan Swartz (mother). Better Business Bureau Accredited Business. Quinn, may you be comforted at this time by His Spirit. The docket of Aaron Swartz’ prosecution made it clear that Quinn Norton, Swartz’ ex-girlfriend, testified with immunity. Aaron Swartz's girlfriend Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman tells of the moment she found him hanging at their Brooklyn apartment in first interview. [See update] In the Atlantic, she provides her side of the story. After Swartz's death, the prosecution has come under scrutiny and not only from his family and supporters. If I had known those things on January 11, if I had even known the right questions to ask, maybe I could have stopped him. And Stinebrickner-Kauffman agrees, even if she isn't sure what killed him. Aaron Swartz's girlfriend Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman shares her view on why he committed suicide, claiming depression didn't have anything to do with it. SEE ALSO: Anonymous Hacks US Government Site, Threatens Supreme 'Warheads'. Directed by Brian Knappenberger. The answer is unquestionably no.". Stinebrickner-Kauffman doesn't believe Aaron was depressed in the first place, as she told The Atlantic Wire. Aaron Swartz and his girlfriend, Taren. It's hard to know, but Swartz suffered from depression before. And for her, that person she spent so much time with was not showing symptoms of depression, according to an emotional blog post on Tumblr. The story of programming prodigy and information activist Aaron Swartz, who took his own life at the age of 26. [35], Articles in The Atlantic and in New York Magazine indicate that in 2011 Norton was pressured by prosecutors to offer information or testimony that could be used against Aaron Swartz in his trial for fraud for downloading thousands of academic articles from behind a paywall, but that she denied having information that supported prosecutors' claims of criminal intentions on Swartz's part. Her work covers hacker culture, Anonymous, Occupy movement, intellectual property and copyright issues, and the Internet. Login to add information, pictures and relationships, join in discussions and get credit for your contributions. He was born on November 8, 1986 at Highland Park, Illinois, United States. He was a student at North Shore Country Day School. On Jan. 4, 2013, Aaron Swartz woke up in an excellent mood. In an emotional letter that may either refocus or amp up the conversation surrounding the tech pioneer's death, the girlfriend of Aaron Swartz has released a post on her Tumblr called " Why Aaron Died " — and none of her reasons include his clinical depression. [12] She wrote articles for Maximum PC magazine for five years and has published in The Guardian, ProPublica, Gizmodo, and O'Reilly Media publications such as Make magazine. Some publications tried to portray him as suffering from depression, apparently to turn the heat away from the federal prosecutors. I believe that Aaron’s death was caused by a criminal justice system that prioritizes power over mercy, vengeance over justice; a system that punishes innocent people for trying to prove their innocence instead of accepting plea deals that mark them as criminals in perpetuity; a system where incentives and power structures align for prosecutors to destroy the life of an innovator like Aaron in the pursuit of their own ambitions.". Find Aaron Swartz on Twitter here, Aaron Swartz, an outspoken opponent of … [5], Norton completed a GED and attended Orange Coast Community College. Tumblr. [13][37] Scoble denied what turned out to be multiple claims of assault, and said they were the result of his struggle with alcoholism. He was American by natinoanliy. He left no note in