Report to the President: MIT and the Prosecution of Aaron Swartz

182 Pages·2013·4.96 MB·English

by  Hal Abelson

Report
 to
 the
 President

MIT
 and
 the
 Prosecution
 of
 Aaron
 Swartz

Review
 Panel

Harold
 Abelson

Peter
 A.
 Diamond

Andrew
 Grosso

Douglas
 W.
 Pfeiffer
 (support)

July
 26,
 2013
©
 Copyright
 2013,
 Massachusetts
 Institute
 of
 Technology

This
 work
 is
 licensed
 under
 a
 Creative
 Commons
 Attribution
 3.0
 Unported
 License.
PRESIDENT
 REIF’S
 CHARGE
 TO
 HAL
 ABELSON

 |

 iii

L. Rafael Reif, President

77 Massachusetts Avenue, Building 3-208
Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 U.S.A.
Phone [phone]

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iv

TABLE
 OF
 CONTENTS

PRESIDENT
 REIF’S
 CHARGE
 TO
 HAL
 ABELSON
 (LETTER)
 ...............................................................
 iii

INTRODUCTION
 ............................................................................................................................
 11

PART
 I:
  EVENTS
 LEADING
 TO
 THE
 ARREST
 ................................................................................
 16

I.A
  Downloading
 of
 JSTOR
 Articles
 ..........................................................................
 16

I.B
  Discovery
 of
 the
 Laptop
 ......................................................................................
 20

I.C
  Events
 of
 January
 6,
 2011:
 The
 Arrest
 ................................................................
 24

I.D
  Events
 of
 January
 6,
 2011:
 Seizure
 of
 the
 Laptop
 ..............................................
 25

I.E
  Access
 to
 the
 MIT
 Network
 ................................................................................
 26

I.E.1
  Connecting
 to
 the
 MIT
 network
 ...............................................................
 26

I.E.2
  JSTOR
 and
 eControl
 ..................................................................................
 27

PART
 II:
  BACKGROUND
 ON
 AARON
 SWARTZ
 AND
 LEGAL
 EVENTS

FOLLOWING
 THE
 ARREST
 ..............................................................................................
 29

II.A
  Background
 on
 Aaron
 Swartz
 .............................................................................
 29

II.A.1
  Aaron
 Swartz
 in
 Cambridge
 ....................................................................
 30

II.A.2
  Possible
 motives
 for
 downloading
 ..........................................................
 31

II.B
  The
 Prosecutions
 and
 the
 Legal
 Defense:
 An
 Overview
 ....................................
 34

II.B.1
  The
 state
 prosecution
 .............................................................................
 35

II.B.2
  The
 federal
 prosecution
 ..........................................................................
 36

II.B.3
  Plea
 discussions
 during
 the
 federal
 prosecution
 ....................................
 38

II.B.4
  Motions
 to
 suppress
 ...............................................................................
 41

II.C
  Aaron
 Swartz’s
 Settlement
 with
 JSTOR
 .............................................................
 41

PART
 III:
 MIT’S
 RESPONSE
 TO
 THE
 PROSECUTION
 (JANUARY
 2011–JANUARY
 2013)
 ...............
 44

III.A
  Events
 between
 the
 Arrest
 and
 the
 Indictment
 (January
 2011–July
 2011)
 ......
 48

III.A.1
  MIT
 provides
 information
 to
 the
 USAO
 (January
 2011–April
 2011)
 .......
 49

III.A.2
  MIT
 is
 informed
 about
 the
 prosecution
 (March
 2011–June
 2011)
 ........
 51

III.A.3
  MIT
 adopts
 and
 maintains
 a
 posture
 of
 neutrality
 .................................
 52

III.A.4
  MIT
 discusses
 possible
 public
 statements
 with
 JSTOR
 (June
 2011)
 .......
 56
CONTENTS

 |

 v

III.B
  Events
 around
 the
 Time
 of
 the
 Indictment
 (April
 2011–September
 2011)
 .......
 58

III.B.1
  Early
 overtures
 to
 MIT
 in
 support
 of
 Aaron
 Swartz

(April
 2011–June
 2011)
 ..........................................................................
 59

III.B.2
  The
 indictment:
 Unauthorized
 access
 ....................................................
 60

III.B.3
  MIT
 as
 “victim”
 .......................................................................................
 62

III.B.4
  Robert
 Swartz
 meets
 with
 MIT’s
 Chancellor
 ..........................................
 62

III.C
  MIT’s
 Contacts
 with
 Prosecution
 and
 Defense

(October
 2011–September
 2012)
 .......................................................................
 64

III.C.1
  Responses
 to
 defense
 inquiries
 are
 slow
 (May
 2012–August
 2012)
 ......
 64

III.C.2
  Robert
 Swartz
 writes
 to
 MIT’s
 President
 ................................................
 66

III.C.3
  MIT’s
 outside
 counsel
 speaks
 with
 the
 lead
 prosecutor

(August
 9,
 2012)
 .....................................................................................
 67

III.C.4
  Robert
 Swartz
 meets
 again
 with
 MIT
 (September
 2012)
 .......................
 69

III.C.5
  Other
 contacts
 on
 behalf
 of
 Aaron
 Swartz
 .............................................
 70

III.D
  Events
 in
 Anticipation
 of
 Trial
 (August
 2012–October
 2012)
 ............................
 72

III.D.1
  The
 defense
 asks
 MIT
 to
 oppose
 jail
 time

(September
 2012–October
 2012)
 ..........................................................
 73

III.D.2
  The
 defense
 moves
 to
 suppress
 evidence
 (October
 2012)
 ....................
 74

III.D.3
  Effect
 of
 the
 suppression
 motions
 (October
 2012–December
 2012)
 ....
 76

III.D.4
  Final
 weeks
 (December
 2012–January
 2013)
 .........................................
 77

PART
 IV:
 DECISION
 POINTS
 FOR
 MIT
 ...........................................................................................
 80

IV.A
  The
 Investigation
 and
 the
 Immediate
 Post-­‐arrest
 Period
 .................................
 81

IV.A.1
  Locating
 the
 laptop
 and
 performing
 a
 packet
 scan
 ................................
 81

IV.A.2
  Informing
 the
 MIT
 Police
 and
 notifying
 the
 Cambridge
 Police
 ...............
 82

IV.A.3
  Providing
 information
 to
 law
 enforcement
 pre-­‐subpoena
 ....................
 82

IV.B
  Neutrality:
 Issuing
 Statements;
 Providing
 Information
 to

Prosecution
 and
 Defense
 ...................................................................................
 83

IV.B.1
  Issuing
 public
 statements
 about
 whether
 to
 prosecute
 .........................
 84

IV.B.2
  Issuing
 public
 statements
 about
 the
 criminal
 charges
 ...........................
 85

IV.B.3
  Making
 private
 statements
 to
 the
 prosecution
 about
 the

criminal
 charges
 .....................................................................................
 85

IV.B.4
  Providing
 prosecution
 and
 defense
 with
 documents
 and

access
 to
 MIT
 employees
 .......................................................................
 86

IV.B.5
  Taking
 non-­‐neutral
 positions
 for
 people
 with
 MIT
 associations
 ............
 87
CONTENTS

 |

 vi

IV.B.6
  Becoming
 more
 informed
 about
 the
 charges
 ........................................
 87

IV.B.7
  Engaging
 more
 deeply
 with
 issues
 around
 the
 Computer
 Fraud

and
 Abuse
 Act
 ........................................................................................
 88

PART
 V:
  QUESTIONS
 FOR
 THE
 MIT
 COMMUNITY
 ......................................................................
 89

Question
 1:
  Should
 MIT
 develop
 additional
 on-­‐campus
 expertise

for
 handling
 potential
 computer
 crime
 incidents,
 thus

giving
 the
 Institute
 more
 flexibility
 in
 formulating
 its

responses?

 ............................................................................................
 90

Question
 2:
  Should
 MIT
 policies
 on
 the
 collection,
 provision,
 and

retention
 of
 electronic
 records
 be
 reviewed?
 ......................................
 92

Question
 3:

  Should
 an
 MIT
 education
 address
 the
 personal
 ethics

and
 legal
 obligations
 of
 technology
 empowerment?
 ...........................
 92

Question
 4:

  Should
 MIT
 increase
 its
 efforts
 to
 bring
 its
 considerable

technical
 expertise
 and
 leadership
 to
 bear
 on
 the
 study

of
 legal,
 policy,
 and
 societal
 impact
 of
 information
 and

communications
 technology?
 ...............................................................
 93

Question
 5:

  What
 are
 MIT’s
 institutional
 interests
 in
 the
 debate
 over

reforming
 the
 Computer
 Fraud
 and
 Abuse
 Act?
 ...................................
 94

Question
 6:
  Should
 MIT
 strengthen
 its
 activities
 in
 support
 of
 open

access
 to
 scholarly
 publications?
 ..........................................................
 95

Question
 7:

  What
 are
 MIT’s
 obligations
 to
 members
 of
 our

extended
 community?
 ...........................................................................
 96

Question
 8:

  How
 can
 MIT
 draw
 lessons
 for
 its
 hacker
 culture
 from

this
 experience?
 .....................................................................................
 97

CONCLUSION
 ..............................................................................................................................
 100

APPENDICES
 ................................................................................................................................
 102

Appendix
 1:
  Letter
 to
 the
 MIT
 Community
 from
 President
 Reif
 .............................
 103

Appendix
 2:
  Letter
 from
 Hal
 Abelson
 to
 the
 MIT
 Community
 ................................
 104

Appendix
 3:
  Review
 Panel
 Members
 .......................................................................
 106

Appendix
 4:
  Processes
 Followed
 in
 Preparing
 This
 Report
 .....................................
 108

4.A
  Criterion
 for
 Naming
 Individuals
 ..........................................................
 108

4.B
  Documents
 Examined
 ..........................................................................
 109

4.C
  Process
 for
 MIT
 Privileged
 Documents
 ................................................
 109
CONTENTS

 |

 vii

4.D
  People
 Interviewed
 ..............................................................................
 109

4.E
  Review
 Process
 for
 Publishing
 This
 Report
 ..........................................
 111

Appendix
 5:
  Timeline
 of
 Events
 ...............................................................................
 112

Appendix
 6:
  JSTOR
 and
 the
 MIT
 Libraries
 ................................................................
 116

Appendix
 7:
  Records
 Produced
 by
 MIT
 to
 Law
 Enforcement
 ..................................
 118

7.A
  Network
 Flow
 Data
 Logs
 ......................................................................
 118

7.B
  Dynamic
 Host
 Configuration
 Protocol
 (DHCP)
 Server
 Logs
 ..................
 118

7.C
  RADIUS
 Server
 Logs
 ..............................................................................
 120

7.D
  Network
 Registration
 Database
 ...........................................................
 120

7.E
  Packet
 Stream
 ......................................................................................
 121

Appendix
 8:
  MIT
 and
 Open
 Access
 Publishing
 ........................................................
 122

8.A
  Open
 Educational
 Resources:
 OpenCourseWare
 .................................
 122

8.B
  Open
 Repository
 Software:
 DSpace
 .....................................................
 122

8.C
  Open
 Access
 to
 MIT
 Scholarly
 Publications
 ..........................................
 123

8.D
  Massive
 Open
 Online
 Courses:
 MITx
 and
 edX
 ......................................
 123

Appendix
 9:
  Some
 Prior
 Relevant
 Incidents
 at
 MIT
 ................................................
 124

9.A
  David
 LaMacchia
 (1994)
 .......................................................................
 124

9.B
  Andrew
 Huang
 (2002)
 ..........................................................................
 126

9.C
  Star
 Simpson
 (2007)
 .............................................................................
 127

Appendix
 10:
 Legal
 Analysis
 of
 MIT’s
 Provision
 of
 Documents

and
 Packet
 Capture
 .............................................................................
 129

10.A
  The
 Federal
 Laws
 Protecting
 Electronic
 Communications
 ...................
 129

10.A.1
  The
 electronic
 communications
 were
 lawfully
 disclosed
 ........
 130

10.A.2
  The
 metadata
 was
 lawfully
 disclosed
 ......................................
 132

10.B
  Massachusetts
 Law
 Regarding
 Electronic
 Communications
 ................
 132

10.C
  Document
 Production
 ..........................................................................
 133

Appendix
 11:
 Comments
 on
 the
 Computer
 Fraud
 and
 Abuse
 Act

Charges
 against
 Aaron
 Swartz
 .............................................................
 135

11.A
  Exceeding
 Authorized
 Access
 ...............................................................
 135

11.B
  Unauthorized
 Access
 ............................................................................
 137

11.C
  Losses
 Exceeding
 Five
 Thousand
 Dollars
 ..............................................
 139

Appendix
 12:
 Letter
 from
 JSTOR
 to
 Its
 Publishers
 .....................................................
 141
CONTENTS

 |

 viii

Appendix
 13:
 Legal
 Procedure
 and
 Practice
 in
 Criminal

Investigations
 and
 Prosecutions
 .........................................................
 142

13.A
  The
 U.S.
 Department
 of
 Justice
 and
 the
 United
 States
 Attorneys
 .......
 142

13.B
  The
 Investigative
 Agencies
 ...................................................................
 143

13.C
  The
 Federal
 Criminal
 Investigation:
 Pre-­‐indictment
 .............................
 144

13.D
  The
 Arrest
 .............................................................................................
 146

13.E
  Investigations,
 Discovery,
 and
 the
 Asymmetric
 Nature
 of
 Criminal

Litigation
 ...............................................................................................
 147

13.F
  Interviews
 and
 Compliance
 with
 Subpoenas
 .......................................
 149

13.G
  Pretrial
 Motions
 and
 Hearings
 .............................................................
 150

13.H
  The
 Status
 of
 “Victims”
 in
 Federal
 Prosecutions
 ..................................
 151

Appendix
 14:
 Questions
 from
 the
 MIT
 Community
 ..................................................
 153

Appendix
 15:
 Glossary
 ...............................................................................................
 162

ILLUSTRATIONS

Map
 1.
 The
 MIT
 Central
 Campus
 ....................................................................................
 ix

Map
 2.
 The
 Central
 Square
 Area
 of
 Cambridge
 ..............................................................
 x
ILLUSTRATIONS

 |

 ix

Albany Street
The person who was seen on
video entering Building 16 network
closet is noticed and followed
by MIT Police (1/6/11)
Vassar Street
Vassar Street
M
a
s
sa Laptop connected to a switch in
c a network closet is discovered
h
u by MIT IS&T (1/4/11)
s
e
t
t
Stratton Bldg s
Student Center A 16
v
W20 e
n
u
e

Laptop first discovered in Building 16
is found connected to network port
in SIPB offices and taken as evidence
by MIT Police (1/6/11)
Killian Court
Memorial Drive
Map
 1.
 The
 MIT
 Central
 Campus
ILLUSTRATIONS

 |

 x

Lee Street ACeanrotrna Sl Swqauratzr ea,r Creasmtebdr indegaer
(1/6/11)
Massachusetts Avenue
The person who was seen on
video entering Building 16 network
closet is noticed and followed
by MIT Police (1/6/11)
Massachusetts AvenueVassar Street Massachusetts 16
Institute of
Technology
W20
Map
 2.
 The
 Central
 Square
 Area
 of
 Cambridge