'The Internet's Own Boy': Aaron Swartz Documentary Trailer Debuts

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By Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai2014-05-01 00:23:45 UTC

Coder and digital-rights activists Aaron Swartz died over a year ago at 26, after he committed suicide in his New York City apartment.

Shortly after his death, filmmaker Brian Knappenberger decided to make a documentary on Swartz'z life, and launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund it.

See also: A Year After Aaron Swartz's Death, Lawmakers Still Demand Answers

The documentary, called The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz debuted at the 2014 Sundance Festival in January, a year after Swartz's death.

Knappenberger, best known for his film We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists about the online hacktivist group Anonymous, just launched a new trailer (see above) ahead of the documentary's official release on June 27.

At the time of his death, Swartz was awaiting trial, accused of downloading millions of academic articles from online database JSTOR. Prosecutors accused him of hacking under the much-maligned Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. He was potentially facing 35 years in prison.

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Topics: Aaron-Swartz, Entertainment, Film, U.S.