Sony does the right thing — belatedly

Sony Pictures’ decision to release “The Interview” on YouTube and other online venues on Christmas Eve and to allow it to play in some theaters around the United States amounted to an admission of a huge mistake.

When Sony dropped all plans to distribute the crude comedy mocking North Korea after suffering a massive hacking attack and receiving threats that theaters showing the film would be hit with violent protests, a narrow argument could be made that the company was prudently tending to its corporate interests.

But the backlash was huge. Many Hollywood stars expressed disbelief at what they called Sony’s cowardice. President Barack Obama criticized the company’s decision-making process. And just about everyone voiced concern that Sony’s cave-in sent a message of weakness that was sure to encourage copycat blackmail efforts — not just by rogue regimes but by any party able to mount a cyberattack.

Nevertheless, Sony’s decision to make “The Interview” available to the public after all isn’t a particularly tidy resolution. A criminal scheme that the FBI says was mounted by the Pyongyang government is likely to cost Sony $100 million or more. This unprecedented mess portends an era in which hacking may be done as much for manipulation as to steal valuable secrets.

But at least with “The Interview,” the bullies didn’t win.