One of the later topics we will be discussing this semester is Legal and Ethical Issues. There are many things we do that may not be legal (downloading music, movies, etc.). The question of legal issues and having free access on the internet was taken to a whole new extreme and I am interested to hear your opinion (both in class and virtually).
Aaron Swartz believed in open access of knowledge on the internet. In 2011 Aaron was arrested for downloading millions of journal articles from JSTOR in order to make it publicly available. The possibility of up to 35 years in prison was too much and this caused him to take his own life.
If someone does something wrong, or more accurately illegal, what are appropriate punishments that can be taken to discourage others, but that are still fair?
I know this discussion is a little early, but since the topic came out now, feel free to post comments!
Some references you guys can look at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Swartz
