Brazil judge targets WhatsApp with suspension order

Messaging system still operating while lawyers appeal nationwide order arising from ‘sexually graphic’ photos of children being shared

A judge says he has ordered the suspension of the globally popular instant messaging system WhatsApp across Brazil because it has allegedly failed to help in an investigation.

Judge Luiz de Moura Correia ordered the suspension earlier in February, though it has continued to operate normally because lawyers have appealed, the newspaper Folha de S Paulo said.

The judge would not comment on details of his decision because it is an ongoing case, but a press officer at the Piaui state’s public safety department said the case was linked to “sexually graphic photos of children on the app”. He spoke on condition of anonymity, citing internal regulations.

WhatsApp did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

WhatsApp does not have an office in Brazil so the judge’s order was delivered to cellphone operators.

SindiTelebrasil, the association that represents those operators, said on its website that the suspension could cause “huge losses to millions of Brazilians” who use WhatsApp for personal and professional reasons.

WhatsApp is owned by Facebook, which last year paid nearly US$22bn to acquire the mobile messaging service.