One of the world’s most popular apps has temporarily lost a huge chunk of its userbase.
WhatsApp has been banned in Brazil for a total 48 hours, starting at 2:00am today.
The country, which has a population of just over 200 million, can no longer access the hugely popular messaging service.
The ban comes courtesy of a court order by a Brazilian judge, affecting Brazil’s 100 million WhatsApp users.
“Because
It continues: “As yet the company did not attend the court order, the prosecution requrested the blocking of services for a period of 48 hours…which was granted by Judge Sandra Regina Nostre Marques.”
WhatsApp is currently own by web giant Facebook, the world’s largest social media network.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted the following to his Facebook page:
WhatsApp is currently being lobbied against in Brazil, with telecoms operators disputing the service’s legality. However, the exact reason behind the latest block hasn’t been revealed, although it’s said that the issue is related to a third-party, as noted by the Telegraph.
It’s worth noting that the ban also appears to be affected users in Venezuela, Argentina, and Chile, according to reports on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/statuses/677472682410156032
https://twitter.com/statuses/677472729457651712
https://twitter.com/statuses/677440038184099841
Related: Best Android Apps 2015
https://twitter.com/statuses/677433389524393984
https://twitter.com/statuses/677338810519330816
Has the WhatsApp outage affected you? And should governments be allowed to shut down major communications services as punishment? Tell us your thoughts in the comment.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
