Ankara, Turkey..“When the police came, Elif was changing her baby’s diaper. She was actually relieved — at least it wasn’t a pre-dawn raid, as she’d feared it might be for months. An afternoon arrest, she thought, would be less frightening for her sons. Elif finished dressing her youngest and watched police search her family’s home before they took her into custody — for using a messaging app the government deems seditious. She knew the arrest was coming. She’d already lost her job, because traces of the app known as Bylock were found on her phone. But Elif is adamant she never used or downloaded it.”

Editor’s Note: Here at The Pine Tree we take freedom of speech seriously. Beyond the at many times(Ok most of the time) childish and trollish comments is a basic concept. Freedom of speech in as unfettered manner as possible is a basic tenet that keeps societies free. The article above shows how things cycle down after basic freedoms come under question. It also is a cautionary tale of how freedom of speech is not really free when it is in an App or system like Facebook. It is also the reason we don’t ask for usernames, passwords or any identifying information.

Information we don’t have and don’t have and never collected cannot be used or produced later. For all the semi openness of their societies it is a reminder that Turkey, China, Russia and a surprising number of other countries free speech while at times tolerated isn’t really free.

The seemingly innocent trails people leave in their daily lives can and at times is being used against them.