Brazil judge briefly blocks WhatsApp over criminal case
SAO PAULO A Brazilian judge briefly blocked Facebook Inc's WhatsApp messaging service on Tuesday for failing to cooperate in a criminal investigation, before the nation's top court overturned the measure in the third such incident since December.Federal Supreme Court President Ricardo Lewandowski said in a decision that it seemed "scarcely reasonable or proportional" for a judge in Rio de Janeiro state to have ordered the indefinite suspension of the messaging app until it revealed encrypted messages pertaining to a confidential case.Still, the criminal judge left some 100 million Brazilian users without access to the messaging app for hours on Tuesday afternoon, showing the vast and unpredictable discretionary power of Brazil's lower courts.
In Brazil and Elsewhere, WhatsApp Feels the Pressures of Encryption
It's difficult to overstate the influence of WhatsApp in Brazil.The messaging app, which was essential for nearly half of all smartphone users in Brazil according to a June 2016 report by Mobile Time and Opinion Box, has seen its fair share of turmoil in the country, however: A Brazilian judge recently ordered a shutdown of the app for 72 hours as a result of WhatsApp's refusal to cooperate with a subpoena in a criminal case.But WhatsApp claims that, given the encryption of their app, there would be no data to turn over.
WhatsApp in Brazil back in action after suspension
Image copyright AP Image caption WhatsApp has now gradually resumed normal service in BrazilThe WhatsApp messaging service in Brazil is operating again after it was temporarily suspended for failing to hand over information requested in a criminal investigation.The third suspension in two years lasted for a few hours, affecting some 100 million users.But Supreme Court judge Ricardo Lewandowski later lifted the nationwide blockage, calling it disproportionate.
Judge Orders WhatsApp Restored in Brazil as Olympics Near
Brazil's chief justice ordered service restored for Facebook Inc.'s WhatsApp, saying the government's decision to block the messaging app violated freedom of speech and communication in the country.WhatsApp had been blocked earlier Tuesday for the third time in seven months in Brazil, a country where the messaging service is ubiquitous.The suspension added to the long list of difficulties Brazil is facing 17 days before the start of the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
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