Thanks to the encryption used by the app, which seeks to increase users’ privacy, only said users have access to that content. That is not the case, however, since requested data refer to content of conversations. The Marco Civil establishes, in articles 10, 11 and 12, that an application provider must only disclose connection logs, content and personal data under a court order. Is WhatsApp obliged to handle the data over? The Marco Civil da Internet, however, avoids situations like this by establishing that any other companies in the same business conglomerate may be held liable in place of that which has no representation in Brazilian territory. The company responsible for the messaging app, however has no office or even legal representation in Brazil and is therefore out of reach to Brazilian Justice. The tech giant bought WhatsApp in 2014 as means of expanding and diversifying its activities. Why request the data to Facebook Brasil? In order to obtain the content of these conversations as means of producing evidence, Sergipe’s Justice, therefore, requested Facebook Brasil to handle over the messages. Implicated dealers supposedly have been using WhatsApp to exchange messages among each other and with possible clients.

Why is WhatsApp offline again?Īs mentioned, there is are ongoing investigations in Sergipe involving drug trafficking. Today, May the 2nd, it has been offline since 2pm in accordance to a court order. By that time, WhatsApp was actually offline from early to late morning. Now, in May, the same judge has repeated the feat of the São Paulo judge and ordered the blocking of the instant-messaging app all over Brazil. Facebook Brasil allegedly did not have said data.

In March, a judge from Sergipe determined the arrest of Facebook’s vice-president for Latin America, Diego Dzodan, due to the refusal by the company to handle over data from the app as cooperation in criminal investigation involving drug trafficking: the drug dealers used the app to coordinate their activities. By the end of 2015 the app came to be offline for a few hours due to a court order issued by a judge in São Paulo, due to its refusal to handle certain data deemed important for criminal investigations.

WhatsApp has once again drawn the attention of the mainstream media due to yet another clash with Justice.

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