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STF ministers close hearings and WhatsApp case follows for decision

06/06/2017

This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.

 

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 5 JUN 2017 By FOLHAPRESS 6p.m. 05

 

Federal Supreme Court (STF) ministers Edson Fachin and Rosa Weber closed the public hearing on WhatsApp's court-ordered suspension and the possibility of intercepting the talks by the app on Monday, saying they "will make a decision that is fair and just ".

They spent two days listening to experts, including WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton, to report two lawsuits under his report in the STF that questioned the constitutionality of the suspension and the possibility that the application collaborate with the Justice in investigations opening the communication Between users.

Debates come as countries such as the US, UK, France and Germany question the use of these applications by terrorists in planning the attacks.

As a form of prevention, these countries are beginning to push WhatsApp to modify its encryption protection system to allow access to "exception" conversations.

In the STF, the debate about the limits of cryptography had another motivation. According to the questions asked by the ministers to the experts, they want to evaluate the possibility of judicial suspensions or requests for interceptions by police authorities to be in disagreement with the Constitution.

Fachin and Weber also took an interest in alternative WhatsApp intercept tools through the telephone operator network.

Known as SS7 Protocol, it works from a cloning of the chip. In possession of the phone for a few minutes, the investigators install WhatsApp on another phone and begin to control the user's account from the new terminal.

Experts, however, insisted on the possibility of modifications to the WhatsApp security system. "Until 2016, the application worked without encryption [encryption]," said attorney Thiago Rodovalho, a representative of the São Paulo Institute of Lawyers (IASP). "This [the possibility of collaboration] is not a jabuticaba. This discussion occurs in various parts of the world, which changed after September 11," he said.

DISTORTION

Another concern of the ministers was the competitive aspect. Although it is the market leader, with 120 million users in Brazil, thousands of users migrated from WhatsApp to their competitors, such as Telegram, when judicial suspensions were enacted.

The application may suffer even more if, in the STF decision, ministers decide on changes to the encryption system to allow researchers access to conversation data - not necessarily the content.

WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton said this could put the application at risk. Acton told the ministers that his company has developed an unbreakable encryption system. Because the security keys belong to the users, the company can not access them, nor create a "master key" that frees researchers access to the conversations.

According to Acton, any such attempt would put the entire application security system at risk by pushing current users to competing applications.

IN BRAZIL: JUSTICE X WHATSAPP

Since 2015, the Brazilian Justice and WhatsApp have already fought some disputes and access to the application has already been blocked four times. In December 2015 and July 2016, the company claimed it could not provide content from conversations of crime investigators, since the messages are encrypted.

The secrecy of the content has generated discussion between companies and Justice. Below, see the app crash cases in the country:

1st time - 25.02.2015

In February last year, a judge in Piauí ordered the blocking of WhatsApp in Brazil, because the company allegedly failed to comply with previous decisions related to investigations carried out by the State Civil Police. The motive would be crimes involving children and adolescents.

"Until recently, we were doing telephone interceptions, but today no one uses a phone [to talk], uses WhatsApp. So you can know what criminals have communicated, where they are, it's through the apps," says Judge Luiz de Moura Correia , From Piauí.

The decision, however, was suspended by a judge of the Court of Justice of Piauí after examining a writ of mandamus filed by the teles and the application was not blocked.

2nd time - 17.12.2015

Judge Xavier de Souza of the 11th Criminal Chamber of the São Paulo Court of Justice has requested that the app be blocked as a reprisal after the company refuses to break the secrecy of data due to a criminal investigation. The measure was determined by the 1st Criminal Court of São Bernardo do Campo.

"We are disappointed with the short-sighted decision to block access to WhatsApp, a communication tool that so many Brazilians came to depend on, and sad to see Brazil isolate itself from the world," said Jan Koum, co-founder and chief executive at the time. Of WhatsApp. The initial 48 hour lockout request lasted about 12 hours.

3rd time - 2.5.2016

Judge Marcel Montalvão, from the region of Lagarto (SE), asked to block the application for 72 hours. The magistrate wanted the company to pass along information about an interstate drug gang to an investigation by the Federal Police, which the company refused to do.

The blockade, however, lasted 25 hours. Judge Ricardo Múcio Santana de Abreu Lima, of the Sergipe Court of Justice, says that the ban on the app in Brazil generated "social chaos throughout the territory" and determined the release.

"The suspension of WhatsApp services lasts 24 hours and it is certain that it has generated social chaos throughout the territory, with difficulties in the development of work, leisure, family, etc.," said Santana.

The process that culminated in the determination of Montalvão is the same as in March this year justified the arrest of Diego Dzodan, vice president of Facebook, the company that owns the app, for Latin America.

4th time - 19.7.2016

Judge Daniela Barbosa de Souza, of the 2nd Criminal Court of the District of Duque de Caxias, determined the blockade. The reason, as happened in other opportunities in Brazil, is that the application does not share information about criminal investigations.

The judge ruled that WhatsApp would disable encryption that ensures the secrecy of the messages and allow the monitoring of conversations of suspects from a criminal organization in Duque de Caxias in real time by the investigators.

She had already sent three trades to Facebook, owner of the application, so that the order was fulfilled. But the company refused to comply, and that is why the judge ordered the service to be blocked.

 

Source: State Mail

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This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.

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