Brazil court decision to unfreeze $11 million of Facebook assets

The amount had been frozen after the company failed to comply with a

Published on 30/07/2016 - 14:58 By Bianca Paiva, a correspondent from EBC - Manaus

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FacebookMarcello Casal Jr

Facebook's Brazil office managed to have assets adding up to $11.7 million unfrozen by a court ruling.

The freeze had been requested by the Federal Prosecution Service in Amazonas state after the company failed to comply with a court ruling which ordered the firm to provide register data and lift the secrecy on messages exchanged through smartphone application WhatsApp for a classified probe by Brazilian officials.

“By granting absolute protection to privacy, the company oversteps all reasonable boundaries, creating an environment which facilitates the communication of those planning acts of terrorism, kidnapping, drug trafficking, etc.” said prosecutor Alexandre Jabur, who drafted the request.

According to Jabur, Facebook argued that user-related content falls under the responsibility of operators in the US and Ireland, which would demand joint international efforts if the request were to be granted.

The Prosecution Service in Amazonas declared that freezing Facebook's assets was the first attempt at trying to obtain the data requested before requesting the app to be shut down.


Translated by Fabrício Ferreira


Fonte: Brazil court decision to unfreeze $11 million of Facebook assets

Edition: Fernando Fraga / Nira Foster

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