As of Jan 04, 2022 a common javascript package was recently sent offline. We know this package as Faker.js, this was especially helpful for backend developers looking to quickly populate data for testing purposes.
Backstory
Most know Aaron Swartz as the co-founder of the popular social media network known as Reddit. Anyone with access to the internet has received free information from Reddit at least once or twice in their life. Mr. Swartz also helped in creating the ‘Creative Commons’, an American non-profit organization and international network devoted to educational access and expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share freely (Wikipedia, Linkedin, Bing).
Activist
Aaron Swartz was very passionate about making all education free to the public. Mr. Swartz would consistently give out free packages, plugins, advice, and anything else he could help a fellow member of society with. Soon he realized that major companies began to make profits off of what Mr. Swartz intended to be free for everyone. This is still happening today which is why Faker.js was taken offline. Mr. Swartz was so fond of this idea of free information that he broke into MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and downloaded knowledge that the campus was keeping behind a paywall.
After the attack
Once Aaron Swartz was caught he received no charges directly from the school and returned all the stolen files. The story does not end there though, the United States department of “Justice 🤦♂️” charged him with several crimes which added up to a total of 50 years in federal prison. Let’s also mention that there are rapists and child molesters are walking free after 10 years. The federal government made a plea bargain with Aaron to keep him quiet and out of prison, but Aaron Swartz stuck to his own agenda and wanted to take the case to trial. On January 11, 2013 Aaron Swartz passed away of “suicide. 🤔”
Conclusion
The founding fathers cared so much about this government prejudice that our very first amendment is based on our freedom of speech and freedom to spread information, and the sixth amendment gives us the right to take any case to trial. Do we live in a modern day dystopia where spreading information comes with the cost of your life?