Whatsapp Services Restored In Brazil Following Temporary Ban

SindiTelebrasil, a Brazilian phone-company association, said it received the order to shut off the popular text message and Internet voice telephone service for smartphones Wednesday afternoon.

But Brazilian media said WhatsApp was requested to supply information on communicating by way of a suspected gang member who’s alleged to have used prohibited action to be organised by WhatsApp.

The block happened as Brazil’s largest telecoms companies lobbied against WhatsApp as the telcos were losing a sizable chunk of revenues to the free messaging service.

Brazilians had also complained bitterly on social media about the suspension. Brazilians have always been among the most passionate in sharing their voice online.

In overturning the WhatsApp ban, Judge Xavier de Souza recommended that a higher penalty should be imposed on WhatsApp, and said in his Thursday ruling: “Considering the constitutional principles, it does not look reasonable that millions of users be affected as a result of the company’s inertia to provide information”.

When word got out that 100 million users would be blocked from using WhatsApp, co-founder Jan Koum tweeted a link to an article stating that nine out of 10 Brazilian doctors talk to their patients using WhatsApp, and added to his tweet, “sadly not right now”.

However, Thursday’s block of WhatsApp appeared to be the first time a major online service was blocked nationwide. SindiTelebrasil said it and its members are not party to the case.

WhatsApp is the most installed app in the country as there are around 92.5 percent of Android devices in Brazil which have this app, according to SimilarWeb, an internet intelligence and marketing company. It’s great to speed up decisions, we use it a lot.

Earlier, Facebook chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, called it a “sad day for Brazil” after a judge there ordered a two-day shutdown of the messaging service, which is owned by Facebook.