[betterunix]

We are talking about a criminal case, in the United States, in which the defendant was a US citizen. The USA is a first world country, and this is purely domestic matter for us; yes, it is a first world problem. If Americans stop paying attention to these things, our problems will rapidly change from "first world" to "tyranny."

[jheriko]

You make a valid point, but even in this context there are better things to pay attention to...

[betterunix]

I am not so sure about that. I would say that the prosecutor's conduct in this case is symptomatic of a broad problem in America, and that the CFAA is symptomatic of that problem. Over the past few decades, the power of the police and of the executive branch as a whole has swelled, and the results have been predictable. What happened to Aaron Swartz is typical: aggressive prosecution by extreme conservatives who expect everyone to live life as passive, docile consumers (and only of particular products that are on the "good list"). It is another case of corporate interests superseding the rights and freedoms of individuals, and of the our government working for the benefit of those corporations while ignoring the needs of the people being governed.

It is not wrong to make a fuss about it, because it draws attention to bigger problems more than similar cases have. The CFAA is overly broad and can be used to prosecute almost anyone -- but it was not until Aaron's death that anyone cared. Prosecutors routinely pile on charges to intimidate defendants, but nobody cared until recently. While it is not as widespread as the superbowl, this case has received attention from people who usually ignore such things.