This is the first time the messaging app has been blocked indefinitely in the country.
A judge in Brazil has ordered all telephone companies to cut off access to WhatsApp in Brazil, affecting one hundred million people who use the hugely popular messaging app in the country.
According to the BBC, the judge took the measures after WhatsApp, which was acquired by Facebook in a multi-billion dollar deal in 2014, refused to hand over information requested in a criminal investigation.
It is the third time that WhatsApp has been blocked in Brazil in two years, although this is the first time that it has been blocked indefinitely; on previous occasions access to the app has been restricted for up to 72 hours.
Calling for the block to be lifted as soon as possible, a WhatsApp spokesperson said: “As we’ve said in the past we cannot share information we don’t have access to.”
“Indiscriminate steps like these threaten people’s ability to communicate, to run their businesses, and to live their lives.”
Sources in Brazil suggest that the judge wanted investigators to have access to WhatsApp conversations, which is prevented by the end-to-end encryption feature introduced earlier this year.
The blockage is not expected to last longer than a few days; WhatsApp has been ordered to pay a fine of 50,000 reais (approximately €13,965) per day until it complies with the judicial order.
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