page_title: Lawrence Lessig 2016 presidential campaign
section_title: The Internet
hierarchical_section_title: Lawrence Lessig 2016 presidential campaign / Political positions / The Internet
caption_attribution_description: English: Aaron Swartz and Lawrence Lessig at the Creative Commons launch party in December 2002. Deutsch: Aaron Swartz und Lawrence Lessig auf der Creative-Commons-Launch-Party im Dezember 2002. فارسی: آرون سوارتز و لارنس لسیگ در جشن انتشار کرییتیو کامنز در دسامبر ۲۰۰۲.DSCN0982_ASLL
context_page_description: The 2016 presidential campaign of Lawrence Lessig, a law professor at Harvard University and cofounder of Creative Commons, was formally announced on September 6, 2015, as Lessig confirmed his intentions to run for the Democratic Party's nomination for President of the United States in 2016. Lessig had promised to run if his exploratory committee raised $1 million by Labor Day, which it accomplished one day early. He described his candidacy as a referendum on campaign finance reform and electoral reform legislation.
  Lessig dropped out of the Democratic primary on November 2, 2015, shortly after the rules for participation in the next debate were changed such that he would no longer qualify. He then considered other strategies to advance his reform agenda, including the possibility of an independent run.
  His campaign platform was unique for its clear priority on passing one thing first: the Citizen Equality Act, a proposal that coupled campaign finance reform with other laws aimed at curbing gerrymandering and ensuring voting access.
context_section_description: Lessig is a strong supporter of Network neutrality, and an equally and broadly deployed Internet in general. He has a long history of supporting digital rights—for example, he helped found Creative Commons which advocates for the expansion of free and creative materials available to all. Lessig has also served on the boards of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Free Software Foundation. His active interest in defending the Internet stems from his 1997 participation in a major lawsuit against Microsoft for trying to use its Windows monopoly to take over web standards.
caption: Lessig and Aaron Swartz in 2002 at the launch party for Creative Commons
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