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Mobile phone operators in Brazil have been ordered by a court to block the WhatsApp Messenger smartphone application for two days.
A Sao Paulo judge made the ruling because it said the Facebook-owned application had repeatedly failed to co-operate with a criminal investigation. Brazilian media has reported that Judge Sandra Regina Nostre Marques applied the ban in relation to the app’s withholding of messages relating to a suspect in a drug-trafficking investigation.
WhatsApp is reportedly the most popular app in Brazil, with about 100 million users in the country. The service offers free text and voice messaging over the internet as well as the ability to make voice calls, also for free.
The app has around 900 million users globally, placing it well ahead of other social platforms such as Twitter and Instagram.
In a statement on Facebook, WhatsApp chief executive Jan Koum said: “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.”
The ban comes in the wake of Brazilian phone companies calling for the government to restrict the use of free internet communication tools, arguing the rise of WhatsApp has damaged their businesses.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg criticised the ban in a post on his personal Facebook page.
“This is a sad day for Brazil. Until today, Brazil has been an ally in creating an open internet,” he said.
“Brazilians have always been among the most passionate in sharing their voice online. I am stunned that our efforts to protect people’s data would result in such an extreme decision by a single judge to punish every person in Brazil who uses WhatsApp.”
Mr Zuckerberg encouraged users to turn to Facebook Messenger as a communication tool until the ban was lifted. Rival messaging services have already been reporting surges in user numbers, with Telegram, an instant messaging service that encrypts communication between users, reporting more than 1.5 million Brazilians had joined since the court order was made.
