5 ms·

If WhatsApp gets summoned to Sharia court in Saudi Arabia over a case of suspected extramarital sex, do you think they should humor them and play along? It is

by aianus 10y ago

If WhatsApp gets summoned to Sharia court in Saudi Arabia over a case of suspected extramarital sex, do you think they should humor them and play along? It is unrealistic to expect WhatsApp to 'correctly respond' to every little despot's 'court orders' worldwide.

tmp19 10y ago
Every little despot's 'court orders' exept for court orders from the most despotic court in the world: The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
- tedunangst 10y ago
  > most despotic court in the world How does one even measure that? Is it measured in units of polpots or what?
  - mikeash 10y ago
    That's unfair, you'd get a more reasonable magnitude measuring in millipolpots.
    - walrus01 10y ago
      Everyone knows the picomussolini is the correct SI measurement unit.
      - mikeash 10y ago
        That seems way too small. I'm pretty sure I'd hit at least several picomussolini just putting my kid to bed at night.
soneca 10y ago
Ad absurdum. They may very well ignore brazilian justice. It is their choice. What they can't do is to ignore brazilian justice and continue to operate in the country.
- bubbleRefuge 10y ago
  Pelo amor de deus cara! Who looses here is the Brazilian public where WhatsApp use is ubiquitous. This is like the reciprocal visa requirements that Brazil imposes on US visitors(making it harder for Americans to spend their dollars in Brazil). This is the Brazilian Government wanting to flex their muscles in front of the Gringos while the public suffers yet again from Ivory tower policies totally disconnected from reality on the ground.
  - cocotino 10y ago
    I remember WhatsApp was blocked once in Brazil for refusing to hand out data on a drug smuggler... Taking into account Brazil is an oversized drug cartel, yes, doing that was "to be disconnected from reality".
    - segmondy 10y ago
      First they start with the drug smugglers, ... No, really, this has always been the means, we are going after "criminals" and once that is possible, then it's everybody else.
      - morganvachon 10y ago
        The flipside is to slowly criminalize everyday activity. I've seen that trend in the US (apart from the decriminalization of marijuana, which I'm still surprised by). As an example, here in Georgia you can theoretically be ticketed for going too slow and too fast at the same time; traffic law says don't impede the flow of traffic, even if said traffic is going 20+ over the limit. So if you're going 5 over and everyone else is going 20 over, you're at risk of getting both tickets. I realize that traffic infractions are not what most consider crimes, but it scales to misdemeanor and even felony offenses as well. "Show me the man and I'll show you the crime." http://www.cato.org/policy-report/januaryfebruary-2010/criminalization-almost-everything http://www.cato.org/policy-report/januaryfebruary-2010/crimi...
  - whatever_dude 10y ago
dang 10y ago
We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12124522 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12124522 and marked it off-topic.

by aianus 10y ago

tmp19 10y ago

Every little despot's 'court orders' exept for court orders from the most despotic court in the world: The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

tedunangst 10y ago
> most despotic court in the world How does one even measure that? Is it measured in units of polpots or what?
- mikeash 10y ago
  That's unfair, you'd get a more reasonable magnitude measuring in millipolpots.
  - walrus01 10y ago
    Everyone knows the picomussolini is the correct SI measurement unit.
    - mikeash 10y ago
      That seems way too small. I'm pretty sure I'd hit at least several picomussolini just putting my kid to bed at night.

soneca 10y ago

Ad absurdum. They may very well ignore brazilian justice. It is their choice. What they can't do is to ignore brazilian justice and continue to operate in the country.

bubbleRefuge 10y ago
Pelo amor de deus cara! Who looses here is the Brazilian public where WhatsApp use is ubiquitous. This is like the reciprocal visa requirements that Brazil imposes on US visitors(making it harder for Americans to spend their dollars in Brazil). This is the Brazilian Government wanting to flex their muscles in front of the Gringos while the public suffers yet again from Ivory tower policies totally disconnected from reality on the ground.
- cocotino 10y ago
  I remember WhatsApp was blocked once in Brazil for refusing to hand out data on a drug smuggler... Taking into account Brazil is an oversized drug cartel, yes, doing that was "to be disconnected from reality".
  - segmondy 10y ago
    First they start with the drug smugglers, ... No, really, this has always been the means, we are going after "criminals" and once that is possible, then it's everybody else.
    - morganvachon 10y ago
      The flipside is to slowly criminalize everyday activity. I've seen that trend in the US (apart from the decriminalization of marijuana, which I'm still surprised by). As an example, here in Georgia you can theoretically be ticketed for going too slow and too fast at the same time; traffic law says don't impede the flow of traffic, even if said traffic is going 20+ over the limit. So if you're going 5 over and everyone else is going 20 over, you're at risk of getting both tickets. I realize that traffic infractions are not what most consider crimes, but it scales to misdemeanor and even felony offenses as well. "Show me the man and I'll show you the crime." http://www.cato.org/policy-report/januaryfebruary-2010/criminalization-almost-everything http://www.cato.org/policy-report/januaryfebruary-2010/crimi...
- whatever_dude 10y ago

dang 10y ago

We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12124522 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12124522 and marked it off-topic.