Brazilian Judge Puts Temporary Ban on WhatsApp -- Update
May 02 2016 - 02:48PM
Dow Jones News
By Will Connors and Rogerio Jelmayer
RIO DE JANEIRO -- A Brazilian judge issued a 72-hour ban on
Facebook Inc.'s WhatsApp throughout Brazil on Monday, the latest in
a series of clashes between the technology giant and the Brazilian
government.
The ban, which would begin at 2 p.m., would likely generate a
wave of criticism and disrupt the lives of tens of millions of
Brazilians who use the free messaging service.
This isn't the first time WhatsApp has been the subject of legal
battles in Brazil. In December a different judge blocked WhatsApp
throughout the country for refusing to cooperate with a criminal
investigation. That ban was reversed after less than 48 hours.
In March, Brazilian federal police briefly detained the vice
president of Facebook's Latin America operations, Diego Dzodan, for
not complying with police requests to access WhatsApp messages
linked to an organized-crime and drug-trafficking case.
Monday's order is part of the same process that resulted in the
executive's arrest, according to a spokeswoman for Sergipe's state
court, where the order was issued. The spokeswoman didn't elaborate
on the case, as it under seal.
"After cooperating to the full extent of our ability with the
local courts, we are disappointed a judge in Sergipe decided yet
again to order the block of WhatsApp in Brazil," a WhatsApp
spokesman said. WhatsApp says it doesn't store customers' messages
and therefore cannot share such information.
SindiTelebrasil, a local telecom industry association, said
telecom providers weren't part of the action that resulted in the
court order and that they will comply with the order.
WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app in Brazil, the
world's fourth-largest smartphone market. Roughly half of the
country's 200 million people use its free text and voice messaging
functions regularly, according to Facebook.
After the ban in December, Facebook Chief Executive Mark
Zuckerberg sharply criticized the move, calling it "a sad day for
Brazil."
Brazil is one of the largest markets outside the U.S. for
Google, Facebook and Twitter.
Individual judges wield considerable power in Brazil and can
issue surprising decisions related to relatively minor cases that
have wide-ranging impact.
Write to Will Connors at william.connors@wsj.com and Rogerio
Jelmayer at rogerio.jelmayer@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 02, 2016 14:33 ET (18:33 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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