Popular messaging service, Facebook-owned WhatsApp, was shut down on Thursday in Brazil, much to the frustration of many, when Facebook refused to place wiretaps on certain accounts in WhatsApp.
A São Paulo judge ruled telecom carriers to block the messaging service for two days starting Thursday after not complying to police requests for eavesdropping, which was part of a criminal drug case. Facebook said wiretapping accounts was technically impossible, reported The New York Times.
After the ban was in effect, it was overturned by a court of appeals and the access was restored. Facebook's WhatsApp is used in Brazil by about a hundred million Brazilians to regularly send messages.
About half of the 200 million people, or 93 million in Brazil use Facebook's WhatsApp which allows user to send text message or make voice calls for free, an appealing service compared to the higher rates of wireless services in Brazil.
The technological structure of WhatsApp makes it impossible to put wiretaps in it, said Facebook. Like its competitors, the service encrypts messages along its way between the sender and recipient. Hence, eavesdropping is not possible.
Countries outside the U.S. are increasingly willing to block American Internet services in relation to a legal disputes. For instance, Turkey blocks YouTube and Twitter for not taking content it found objectionable.
Bangladesh also blocked Facebook, Viber and WhatsApp temporarily last month, as it found a need to preserve order when a ruling from Supreme Court to uphold the death penalty for two men convicted of war crimes during the country's war against Pakistan in 1971.
Concerns about balance between privacy and government needs to protect citizens are also growing. Governments like Britain and United States pressed tech firms to change their services and allow authorities to track communications when needed.
The fears intensified after the Nov. 13 Paris attack when the plotters may have used encryption to conceal communications, suspected the intelligence officials.
Speaking to Huffington Post, Ricardo Côrtes dos Santos from Rio de Janeiro, said he uses Facebook's WhatsApp "practically 24 hours a day," complaining that rates in Brazil for wireless service are very high.
"Imagine paying more than a dollar for minute calls. [This] feels like censure." He said.
