On the 17th of December Brazilian courts ban the mobile app WhatsApp for 48hours due to the company failing to co-coperate in a Criminal investigation.
The social media website Facebook owns the WhatsApp. Its chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said he was "stunned" by the "extreme" by the Sao Paulo state courts decison. Facebook released a statement saying, "We are disappointed in the short-sighted decision to cut off access to WhatsApp, a communication tool that so many Brazilians have come to depend on, and sad to see Brazil isolate itself from the rest of the world," said Jan Koum, chief executive of WhatsApp, in a statement posted on Facebook.
According to a 'Tech Crunch' report, in Brazil WhatsApp 93 million users, or 93% of the country’s internet population. The service is used by many people who cant afford the expensive Brazilian phone plans. Considering that Brazil is the social media capital of the world, this will cause issues for the Brazilian population.
This suspension of WhatsApp comes after Brazilian phone companies urged the government to restrict the use of free voice-over-internet services offered through the App.
Most details of the case are being kept secret by the judge, as is allowed under Brazilian law, however brazilian TV stations speculated it was due to a drug gang related crime.
Laura Bailey
Laura Bailey
Image: Wired
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