It’s a good story, but the headline (just copied from CBC, not av’s fault!) is entirely wrong. Computer code didn’t put people in jail. An oppressive government put people in jail.
I think both interpretations could be correct. The laws of the regime are wholly unethical, so I agree blame lies mostly with the government. But the Gülenists who created the link back to bylock did so knowing that innocent (in the eyes of the law) people might be incarcerated under the laws of the regime. The authors are partly culpable.
Of course, “Oppressive regime throws innocents in jail” isn’t going to get as many clicks.
This is an excellent point. I’m not a Turk myself, but I hate Erdogan and the Islamist political views he represents. If Turkey were within my sphere of immediate political concern (rather than a country I have no particular connection to), I could easily see myself supporting the coup attempt itself, let alone a communications app connected with it. So seeing people legally exonerated for doing something that I think ought to be completely legitimate brings me no joy.
For an analogy closer to home, imagine that this article was about people trying desperately to prove that they were being falsely accused of using was Gab, because their jobs were at stake.
It’s a good story, but the headline (just copied from CBC, not av’s fault!) is entirely wrong. Computer code didn’t put people in jail. An oppressive government put people in jail.
I think both interpretations could be correct. The laws of the regime are wholly unethical, so I agree blame lies mostly with the government. But the Gülenists who created the link back to bylock did so knowing that innocent (in the eyes of the law) people might be incarcerated under the laws of the regime. The authors are partly culpable.
Of course, “Oppressive regime throws innocents in jail” isn’t going to get as many clicks.
This is an excellent point. I’m not a Turk myself, but I hate Erdogan and the Islamist political views he represents. If Turkey were within my sphere of immediate political concern (rather than a country I have no particular connection to), I could easily see myself supporting the coup attempt itself, let alone a communications app connected with it. So seeing people legally exonerated for doing something that I think ought to be completely legitimate brings me no joy.
For an analogy closer to home, imagine that this article was about people trying desperately to prove that they were being falsely accused of using was Gab, because their jobs were at stake.