WhatsApp service restored in Brazil

The WhatsApp messaging app resumed service in Brazil after the Supreme Court overturned a suspension that lasted less than a day and affected more than 100 million users. “The Supreme Court has reversed the order,” a WhatsApp spokesperson told VentureBeat.

Today’s blocking of WhatsApp had been ordered by Judge Daniela Barbosa Assunção de Souza in the state of Rio de Janeiro and was levied against the company for failure to aid a criminal investigation. It’s the third time in less than a year that Brazil’s phone carriers have been prohibited from carrying WhatsApp.

Earlier today, WhatsApp issued the following public statement: “In recent months, people from all across Brazil have rejected judicial blocks of services like WhatsApp. Indiscriminate steps like these threaten people’s ability to communicate, to run their businesses, and to live their lives. As we’ve said in the past, we cannot share information we don’t have access to. We hope to see this block lifted as soon as possible.”

[UPDATE 4:06 pm Pacific] WhatsApp has issued the following statement:

“We’re pleased that people can access WhatsApp again in Brazil. The Supreme Court swiftly rejected today’s block, finding that it was disproportionate and violated people’s fundamental freedom of expression. In his decision, the chief justice stressed how people from across Brazil, including members of the judiciary, rely on WhatsApp to communicate with others every day, and that they bear the greatest burden when a service is blocked. We hope that this puts an end to blocks that have punished millions of Brazilians and that people can continue using services like WhatsApp to stay in touch with those who matter to them.”