Freedom means being free to reject God, to reject the challenge of the human condition, to seek demonic means and ends, to pursue evil.
So for me, the real question is why God would put so many filth-choosers on this planet all at the same time, under conditions where each one of them has an equal vote.
Did He really wonder what would happen?
Free will is the answer that works for me. Others see it differently.
Jonah 4 is evidence to me that free will is the right direction.
Jonah 4:11 And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”