There&#x27;s some subtle and fundamental differences here that I think are important.<p>People are saying WhatsApp are lawbreakers, etc. That heavily implies that they&#x27;ve done something wrong - which would mean that they are indeed subject to these laws in some shape or fashion.<p>I would argue that this is a dangerous thought process to have. It&#x27;s a scary precedent - blocking WhatsApp is relatively mild, but what about if they wanted extradition?<p>It&#x27;s also encouraging a world where anyone with an internet accessible site or business is now having to somehow keep track of every applicable law in every internet accessible location.<p>WhatsApp is a US based business that has not broken any US laws. They&#x27;ve done nothing wrong from that perspective. They can&#x27;t be breaking laws they&#x27;re not subject to.<p>Brazil can control what is and isn&#x27;t allowed in their country, and you can say that the service did not comply with their laws, and thus the ban - but WhatsApp still isn&#x27;t a lawbreaking company.<p>I think the distinction between the two is vital.