Whatsapp is one of the most popular chatting platforms in the world with over 900 million active users in the last count but its growth has initiated backlash with telcos. It offers texting and calling functionality with the charge being your data balance, which is relatively cheaper than what telcos charge with their voice and texting bundles.
This is the same problem telcos are having on Brazil and according to a report by TechCrunch, the 1st Criminal court of São Bernardo do Campo in Sao Paulo, a major city in Brazil, ordered WhatsApp to be shut down for the next two days. This has made people to cross over and use Telegram Messenger, a chatting service that looks and functions just like Whatsapp to have a surge of new users thanks to the court order.
More than 1.000.000 new users from Brazil today and growing. If you've just joined, check this out: https://t.co/x1haKyjvzQ
— Telegram Messenger (@telegram) December 17, 2015
1.500.000 and counting, SMS-Gateways overloading. Hang on, your codes are coming! We've got all hands on deck to accommodate the crazy load.
— Telegram Messenger (@telegram) December 17, 2015
Apparently, telecommunications companies noticed the disruptive nature of WhatsApp on voice revenue which has caused Brazilians not to use their mobile phones for this purpose. Whatsapp has 93 million users in Brazil and its use dwarfs the use of its mother company, Facebook.
The temporary ban of WhatsApp in Brazil is only the first step. Apparently the Congress in the country is even contemplating to cut off the country from accessing social media platforms. “Many politicians in Brazil that the internet is only used to say bad things about them. They hate the internet. It’s a threat” Ronaldo Lemos from Marco Civil was quoted.
WhatsApp’s founder, Jan Koum was disappointed by this development in Brazil and aired his sentiments on his Facebook page:
We have seen cases of WhatsApp being used in interesting cases in Brazil. There is one where a young Mayor used to govern the activities in her town on WhatsApp. Once again Telegram Messenger is the winner in this and we will have to see if other chatting platforms like it will be banned in the future
[…] to be more than 93 million. The first time Brazil blocked access to WhatsApp, it led people to register en masse on Telegram where Telegram hinted they got over 1.5 million users in less than 24 hours. In this case, the ban […]