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That time a Brazilian court banned WhatsApp for 72 hours and nobody talked about it
Three years ago this February, a judge in Brazil ordered all phone carriers to block WhatsApp for 72 hours because the company wouldn't hand over user messages for a criminal investigation. I remember sitting in my apartment in Sao Paulo and suddenly my messages just stopped working. Most people I know were furious at the government, calling it censorship of the most popular app in the country. But I actually agreed with the court's reasoning - if a company refuses to follow local laws during a legitimate crime probe, some action has to be taken. I feel like we treat all data blocking as evil but it really depends on who is asking and why. Has anyone else seen a case where a government takedown actually made sense?
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taylor8211d ago
Honestly, it's like how people complain about traffic laws until they see someone run a red light.
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martinez.anna10d ago
Ha! Totally guilty of that myself, @taylor82. I'm a hypocrite behind the wheel too.
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