&gt;Companies should beholden to the laws of the places they reside.<p>My belief is slightly different: companies should be beholden to the laws of the places they <i>trade</i> (or do business, or earn income). I think it&#x27;s both moral and pragmatic in a <i>real politik</i> way (he who pays the piper and all that). If a company thinks it can get away with ignoring the laws and at the same time benefiting from the same country, they shouldn&#x27;t be surprised to find themselves cut off.<p>This is why US companies are bending over backwards to onerous demands by the Chinese gvt (and following Chinese laws) in order to gain access to the humongous Chinese market. Money talks, and the Brazilian judge &#x27;hacked&#x27; the legal limitations: I consider this to be an extra-territorial contempt of court sanction. It is well within Whatsapp&#x27;s legal rights to keep ignoring this, but it wouldn&#x27;t be advisable with the 1m subscriber bonus to its competitor.