Whatsapp Services Restored In Brazil Following Temporary Ban

Whatsapp, the Facebook-owned popular phone messaging service, is back online after a temporary shutdown that went into effect at midnight Wednesday.

Reuters reported that the ban lasted for about 12 hours until an appeals court judge overturned it. A lower court judge in Sao Bernardo do Campo ordered the suspension of WhatsApp's services from midnight on Wednesday (0200 GMT Thursday) for 48 hours, after the company failed to comply with two judicial rulings to share information in a criminal case.

Following the ban, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressed his disappointment in a Facebook post that read:

“This is a sad day for Brazil. Until today, Brazil has been an ally in creating an open internet. Brazilians have always been among the most passionate in sharing their voice online.

I am stunned that our efforts to protect people's data would result in such an extreme decision by a single judge to punish every person in Brazil who uses WhatsApp.”

Judge Xavier de Souza from the 11th criminal court of Sao Paulo overturned the ruling saying that the ban was not “reasonable”.

"Considering the constitutional principles, it does not look reasonable that millions of users be affected as a result of the company's inertia to provide information," Judge Xavier de Souza from the 11th criminal court of Sao Paulo said in the ruling.

SimilarWeb, an internet intelligence and marketing company, estimates that WhatsApp is installed on 92.5% of Android devices in Brazil, which makes it the most installed app in the country.