My foundational statements, I think most people would agree to the follwing:<p>1. Sovereign countries have a right to formulate laws and uphold them to protect their citizens.<p>2. Companies can choose where they do business. In most cases, the relationship with host countries is symbiotic (benefits include skilled employees&#x2F;employment, taxes).<p>No one is suggesting that WhatsApp is breaking the law, however, Brazil requires WhatApps cooperation in a criminal investigation (criminal, by Brazilian law). WhatApp chose not to cooperate. Brazil&#x27;s judiciary have come up with leverage to gain that cooperation, in the absence of more effective means (arresting WhatApp officers if they had an office in Brazil, as a US would in a Contempt of Court charge)<p>IMO, legally this is similar to the UK using ISPs to block the Pirate Bay - it&#x27;s perfectly legal in Sweden.<p>Extreme example: the US would be entirely within their rights to block an Italian porn sites that has videos of 15 year-olds. The company won&#x27;t be &quot;lawbreakers&quot;, but they are not welcome on US&#x27;s cyperspace