The Internet and Free Speech: A Preview of "The Internet's Own Boy"

This compelling new documentary by Brian Knappenberger explores the complicated world of the computer prodigy Aaron Swartz and how he became an icon for Internet activism. We see how Swartz evolved from a computer wunderkind—who as a teenager helped create the web format RSS and helped build the social site Reddit—to a crusader for open access for information on the Internet. The film traces Swartz’s motives in illegally making available academic articles from a MIT database.

After the screening, experts and scholars of Internet history will examine the legacy of Aaron Swartz, discussing the meaning of free speech in the digital age.