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Obama on Sony Hack: Pulling The Interview Was ‘a Mistake’

Hours after the FBI concluded that North Korea was definitely responsible for the cyberattack on Sony, President Obama criticized the studio’s decision to pull The Interview from theaters at the hackers’ request. At his year-end press conference, Obama allowed that he was sympathetic to Sony’s concerns, but said the studio “made a mistake” in shutting down the film’s entire theatrical release. “We cannot have a society where some dictator someplace can start imposing censorship on the United States,” he said. “If someone is able to intimidate someone from releasing a satirical movie, imagine what they’ll do if they see a documentary or a news report they don’t like. Or even worse, if producers engage in self-censorship so they don’t offend the sensibilities of people who need to be offended.” Obama finished by vowing a “proportionate response” to North Korea, but refused to take the symbolic step of watching The Interview himself.

Obama on Sony Hack: Pulling Film Was ‘a Mistake’