A Brazilian judge has ordered the nationwide suspension of the instant messaging application WhatsApp because it won't help out in a police investigation.
Rio de Janeiro Judge Daniela Barbosa ruled that access to the application should be blocked immediately. That is expected to happen once phone companies are notified.
Barbosa's decision says that WhatsApp owner Facebook has been repeatedly asked to intercept messages sent through the service to help in a criminal probe in the city of Caxias, outside Rio.
Facebook did not immediately comment on the judge's decision.
A judge from northeastern state of Alagoas in February ruled the same way in a separate investigation.
The application was blocked in Sao Paulo for 12 hours in December by a judge in that region.
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