Brazil Imposes 48-Hour Blackout of WhatsApp Messaging Application

Until now Brazilian companies have been unsuccessful in their quest to regulate WhatsApp, but today’s shutdown may be the beginning of a change of approach from the country’s government.

The judge kept the name of the third party a secret, but it comes at a time when Brazilian cell companies are lobbying against WhatsApp taking away their SMS and voice calling business.

So, given that animosity, if you had to guess who was behind this court order, those companies would probably be a safe bet.

Brazil has blocked Facebook’s WhatsApp messaging app, preventing users in the country from connecting to service or sending messages.

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, the company that possesses WhatsApp, has called the boycott of the prominent informing administration in Brazil a “sad day”.

That’s why there is an economic battle on top of the legal battle, with competitors like Telegram and the Brazilian phone companies respectively, trying to get in on WhatsApp’s action.

It’s worth noting that Brazilian telecoms tried to curb the use of Whatsapp’s VoIP services in the country in August, claiming it hurts their profits.

Because of the free service, WhatsApp has been drawing customers, particularly the youth and the poor, away from cellphone contracts. “As yet the company did not attend the court order, the prosecution requested the blocking of services for a period of 48 hours, based on the law of the Civil the internet Marco, which was granted by Judge Sandra Regina Nostre Marques”, the Court said in a statement.

We are working hard to get this block reversed. He also pointed out users in Brazil can still communicate via Facebook Messenger. An estimated 93% of internet-connected Brazilians use WhatsApp, and they just lost access to it with no notice. “Brazilians have always been among the most passionate in sharing their voice online”, Zuckerberg in a wrote on his Facebook page in both English and Portuguese.