WhatsApp users in Brazil have been cut off from using the app for 72 hours following its failure to comply with a court order to turn over data relating to a criminal investigation.

According to The Intercept, the ruling was  issued on April 26 and took effect at 2 p.m. local time May 2nd.

The ban itself is being implemented by having the country’s five largest internet service providers block WhatsApp data for the duration of the blackout period, with any carriers who violate the order subject to a fine of 500,000 reals ($140,000).

News of the dispute first gained global attention in March when Brazillian authorities arrested a Facebook, Inc. executive (WhatsApp is fully owned by Facebook but run as a separate company) and relates to a request for detailed logs of chat conversations of suspects in an organized crime and drug-trafficking investigation.

While the Facebook executive was subsequently released, WhatsApp has still not complied with the order simply because it cannot; all messages on the app feature end-to-end encryption, meaning WhatsApp is unable to access, nor read the data being communicated.

“After cooperating to the full extent of our ability with the local courts, we are disappointed a judge in Sergipe decided yet again to order the block of WhatsApp in Brazil,” WhatsApp said in a statement. “This decision punishes more than 100 million Brazilians who rely on our service to communicate, run their businesses, and more, in order to force us to turn over information we repeatedly said we don’t have.”

Encryption wars

WhatsApp announced in April that it had completed its global rollout of end-to-end encryption for all users, meaning that no matter where in the world a court demands it to hand over data, it simply is unable to do so.

“The idea is simple: when you send a message, the only person who can read it is the person or group chat that you send that message to,” the company said at the time. “No one can see inside that message. Not cybercriminals. Not hackers. Not oppressive regimes. Not even us. End-to-end encryption helps make communication via WhatsApp private – sort of like a face-to-face conversation.”

WhatsApp’s decision comes at a time where encryption has been thrust into the spotlight, following the now infamous demand from the Department of Justice that Apple, Inc. unlock an iPhone, and the subsequent announcement of legislation going before Congress that would make end-to-end encryption illegal.

The decision by Brazil to ban WhatsApp for 72 hours may seem like a crazy one (because it is), but it’s just another shot in what is clearly turning into a global war on encryption.

Image credit: saadandalib/Flickr/CC by 2.0