Judge reverses WhatsApp block in Brazil

Judge Xavier de Souza, from São Paulo Court of Justice, ordered on Thursday (Dec. 17), on preliminary basis, to reverse the WhatsApp block nationwide. A judge from the 1st Criminal Court of São Bernardo do Campo, in São Paulo state, had ordered a block of 48 hours to the app. The order started at midnight.

According to the judge, "in light of constitutional principles, it does not seem reasonable to affect millions users due to the company's inertia" to provide information to Justice.

For Souza, it is possible to impose more strict penalties to "inhibit any resistance" of the company responsible for the app, in case of non-compliance with court orders. The appeal from the trial court will be considered by the Court.

The blocking has been ordered because WhatsApp did not respond to a court order of July 23, 2015, to provide information about an app user as part of a criminal case. On 7 August, the company was again notified, with there being fixed penalty in case of non-compliance. As yet the company did not attend the court order, the prosecution requested the blocking of services for a period of 48 hours, under the Internet Civil Rights Framework, which was granted by Judge Sandra Regina Nostre Marques.

In February 2015, Judge Luiz Moura,  from Teresina, capital of Piauí state, ordered the suspension of Whatsapp throughout the Brazilian territory, but the decision has been reversed by a judge of Piauí Court of Justice.

Translated by Amarílis Anchieta