whatsappA Brazilian judge has ordered cellphone carriers to block access to WhatsApp for 72 hours throughout the Latin American country, after the Facebook-owned company refused to hand over information requested in a drug trafficking investigation (via Reuters).

As reported last month, the instant messenger service recently enabled full end-to-end encryption, making all forms of communication sent within the app inaccessible to outside parties as well as the service operator.

Yesterday's decision by the judge applies to the five main wireless operators in Brazil and affects more than 100 million WhatsApp users in the country, where cellphone charges are relatively high.

This is not the first time the service has been the target of a blocking order. In December of last month, mobile providers in Brazil were ordered to block WhatsApp for 48 hours due to the service's failure to cooperate with criminal court orders in July and August 2015. However, the following morning, an appeal's court judge ordered that the ban be lifted for being an unreasonable response, recommending that the company be fined instead.

In March of this year, Facebook vice-president for Latin America Diego Dzodan was arrested in Brazil for not cooperating with an investigation in which WhatsApp conversations were requested, but was released the next day after the Court of Appeal held that the arrest was disproportionate. The judge who ordered WhatsApp's shutdown on Monday is the same one who ordered Dzodan's arrest.

Elsewhere last month, members of UK prime minister David Cameron's inner circle campaigning to remain in the European Union were accused of using WhatsApp to discuss tactics and avoid parliamentary referendum decisions from being subject to Freedom of Information requests. Only last year, Cameron proposed to ban online messaging software that offers end-to-end encryption which could allegedly allow suspected terrorists a safe means of communication.

WhatsApp is not the only messaging service that provides end-to-end encryption; Threema, Wickr, Signal, Silent Phone, and Cryptocat also provide encryption by default. Apple's iMessage also provides encryption, but does not display key fingerprints for verification. Apple's own legal issues over encryption came when the FBI attempted to compel the company to unlock San Bernardino terror suspect Farook Syed's iPhone, before the Justice Department announced it had found an alternate method to gain access to the iPhone in question and dropped the lawsuit.

While WhatsApp has been available as a smartphone app since January 2010, users have only been able to access their accounts on a computer since last year when a web browser client for the service was introduced. Last week, screenshots posted by WABetaInfo on Twitter appeared to show translation requests made by the WhatsApp team indicating that a dedicated OS X client is in the works. WhatsApp is also reportedly set to receive a video calling feature in the near future.

Acquired by Facebook in February 2014, WhatsApp is one of the most popular mobile apps worldwide. According to Statista statistics portal, in February the service recorded more than 1 billion active users worldwide, up from over 700 million in January 2015.

WhatsApp Messenger is a free download for iPhone on the App Store. [Direct Link]

Update 11:58 AM: A second judge has overturned the suspension, according to Reuters.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Top Rated Comments

Mac Fly (film) Avatar
120 months ago
How about regulating and decriminalising all drugs and saving 30-50 billion per year on an endless ineffective drug war and then use some of that money to treat drug addicts like what they actually are: mostly sick people. Portugal legalised drugs 15 years ago and this approach now has their drug addict population at roughly half what it was in 2001. And even more importantly, drug violence has gone way down. And how about getting private entities out of the prison business while you're at it. The mere thought of privately run prisons as businesses creeps me the hell out.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Chatter Avatar
120 months ago
Nice job Brazil! I'm sure shutting down the app really showed the criminals who is boss. How else could they ever communicate? Mission Accomplished! Drugs are no longer a problem. :rolleyes:
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vmachiel Avatar
120 months ago
As if the Brazilian government couldn't get any less popular...
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Northgrove Avatar
120 months ago
In March of this year, Facebook vice-president for Latin America Diego Dzodan was arrested in Brazil for not cooperating with an investigation in which WhatsApp conversations were requested, but was released the next day after the Court of Appeal held that the arrest was disproportionate. The judge who ordered WhatsApp's shutdown on Monday is the same one who ordered Dzodan's arrest.
Hmm, unsure if this is the right judge to handle cases involving WhatsApp...

I understand working to limit drug trafficking is an important job and all since bad things tend to follow in its footsteps. But I doubt punishing 100 million people is proportionate to this crime either. That has to be quite some drugs they are hunting. Or maybe they just got angry.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Glassed Silver Avatar
120 months ago
Hmm, unsure if this is the right judge to handle cases involving WhatsApp...

I understand working to limit drug trafficking is an important job and all since bad things tend to follow in its footsteps. But I doubt punishing 100 million people is proportionate to this crime either. That has to be quite some drugs they are hunting. Or maybe they just got angry.
It's really just to create pressure methinks.

If this was about a balanced punishment, they wouldn't let legit users take the toll so directly.

As a sidenote, maybe it's time to end prohibition of any drugs and come clean (pun not intended) on the lies that have been told for decades.
There's enough evidence by now that merely banning any kind of drug doesn't help anyone but organized crime.

Of course we would continue to see similarly stupid decisions over services like WhatsApp for other cases of crime prevention, but it's just something that reminded me how stupid the approach of trying keep a society drug-free is, not least because it fails hard every damn time and what you try to prevent only becomes a deeper problem spawning other crimes around it where third parties ACTUALLY ARE directly harmed as a result.

Common sense is rare in politics these days though, so although the process already started, it's going to be a while until we see betterment.

Until some God damn day everyone forgets about anything again, and tries to throw back society again.
Rinse and repeat.

Glassed Silver:mac
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PBG4 Dude Avatar
120 months ago
"In December of last month." LOL, nice editing you have there. :-)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Expected Later This Year With These New Features

Saturday July 12, 2025 3:09 pm PDT by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Rumors Faster Wi-Fi Support The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports ...
iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Sunday July 13, 2025 10:30 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...
iphone 16 pro pro max

iPhone 17 Pro Models With BOE Displays Will Be Sold in China Only

Thursday July 10, 2025 11:59 pm PDT by
iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models with displays made by BOE will be sold exclusively in China, according to a new report. Last week, it emerged that Chinese display manufacturer BOE was aggressively ramping up its OLED production capacity for future iPhone models as part of a plan to recapture a major role in Apple's supply chain. Now, tech news aggregator Jukan Choi reports...
top stories 2025 07 12

Top Stories: iPhone 17 Pro Rumors, iOS 26 Beta 3, and More

Saturday July 12, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
The iOS 26 public beta release is quickly approaching, while developers have recently gotten their hands on a third round of betas that has seen Apple continue to tweak features, design, and functionality. We're also continuing to hear rumors about the iPhone 17 lineup that is now just about right around the corner, while Apple's latest big-budget film appears to be taking off, so read on...