Brought to you by Open Rights Group. The Internet’s Own Boy tells the life story of programmer, writer, political and internet activist Aaron Swartz, an internet pioneer and free speech campaigner. Aaron Swartz was involved in the development of Creative Commons, Reddit and the campaign against the Stop Online Piracy Act.

It was Swartz’s ground-breaking work in social justice and political organising combined with his aggressive approach to information access that ensnared him in a two-year legal nightmare.

The Internet’s Own Boy asks questions about academic freedom, corporate power, and the impact one person can have on society. This film is a personal story about what we lose when we are tone deaf about technology and its relationship to our civil liberties.

“Illustrated by home-video material, news footage and testimony from friends and family, the film builds up a portrait of a brilliant, driven, complex young man who’s likely to be an iconic figure in the future, a sort of digital-age Che Guevara” (The Guardian)

The screening is brought to you by the Edinburgh chapter of Open Rights Group, the digital rights grassroots campaigning organisation. Following the screening, Scotland Director Matthew Rice will be available to discuss the work of Open Rights Group in more detail and give information about how to get involved in initiatives in Edinburgh, Scotland and across the UK.