Aaron Swartz, 26, Programmer

Outspoken Advocate of Free Information

Aaron Swartz
Accomplishments
Co-developed RSS
Instumental in the creation of Reddit
He helped start Creative Commons,

Open Library, Watchdog.net, and the

Progressive Change Campaign
Committee
Founded Demand Process
Founded the Stop Online Piracy
Founded the Protect IP Act

Whistleblower?
Mr. Swartz broke into computer

networks atMIT and downloaded 4.8

million documents onto his hard
drive. JSTOR decided not to press
charges, but a U.S. attorney
continued to pursue the case.
Swartz appeared in court in
September and entered a plea of not
guilty. The trial was set for April, and
hefaced 35 years in prison and $1
million in fines if found guilty.

He used his prodigious skills as a programmer

and technologist not to enrich himself but to make
the Internet and the world a fairer, better place.
-Aaron Swartz Family, in a statement, after
his death

Aaron Swartz
Legacy Lives On
Aaron Swartz committed suicide January 11, 2013 in
New York. He was 26 years old.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------There's an old joke among programmers about who will
maintain the code when its author gets hit by a truck. This
page is here so that if for some reason I'm no longer able to
keep my web services running, people will know what to do.
I designate Sean B. Palmer as my virtual executor to
organize such things. (And if you delete anything, Sean, I will
haunt you from the grave!)
I ask that the contents of all my hard drives be made
publicly available from aaronsw.com.
--Aaron
Swartz

Social Work:
Questions to Consider Before
Whistleblowing
Severity: Does it cause severe harm?
Quality of the Evidence: Has evidence

been established in the wrong doing?

Impact: Will this have a profound affect on
others?
Your motivation: Is this motivated by selfinterest? Or is there a true moral obligation to
report this?
Viability of reasonable alternatives: Is
there a quieter or more constructive way to
handle this issue?

Relevant Section to
Whistleblowing
NASW CODE OF ETHICS

_______________________________________
NASW Code of Ethics addresses this
in standard 2.11c:
Social workers who believe that a
colleague has acted unethically should
seek resolution by discussing their
concerns with the colleague when
feasible and when such discussion is
likely to be productive.

Social Work:
How to Reduce the Risk of
Whistleblowing
Choose to work in environments that

support the same values and ethical

principles as the social work
profession.
Prepare to manage ethical problems

both within and outside of

organizational contexts.

References
O Amsden,

D. (2013, February 28). The Brilliant Life and Tragic Death of Aaron Swartz. Rolling
Stone Culture. Retrieved February 24, 2014, from
http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the-brilliant-life-and-tragic-death-of-aaron-swartz20130215

O Barsky,

A. E. (2010). Ethics and values in social work an integrated approach for a

comprehensive curriculum. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

O Getz,

L. (2013, January 13). Programmer, Outspoken Advocate of Free Information. The

Daily Beast. Retrieved February 24, 2014, from
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/13/aaron-swartz-26-programmer-outspoken-a
dvocate-of-freeinformation.html

O Reamer,

F. (2002, July 2). Eye on Ethics. Blowing the Whistle Should You or Shouldn't You?.
Retrieved February 24, 2014, from http://www.socialworktoday.com/news/eoe_072202.
shtml

O Strochlic,

N. (2013, January 13). Aaron Swartz, 26, Programmer, Outspoken Advocate of

Free Information. The Daily Beast. Retrieved February 24, 2014, from
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/13/aaron-swartz-26-programmer-outspokenadvocate-of-free-information.html