Facebook was ordered to pay BRL 4,000 in damages to a WhatsApp user whose messaging app was cloned by fraudsters. The company can appeal.
The 28th Chamber of Private Law of the TJ-SP (Court of Justice of São Paulo) determined the compensation as it understands that, as informed by Facebook, activating the two-step verification security system is optional.
The unanimous decision also states that the company has not proven that the lack of the procedure has contributed directly and effectively to the cloning of the application.
“The author cannot be penalized for not having done something that was merely optional. This would be equivalent to accepting as reasonable that a company that operates an amusement park, for example, allows visitors to use, or not, seat belts in attractions, the their free discretion, which cannot be conceived”, said the rapporteur, judge Angela Lopes.
In the decision, the judge stated that it was up to WhatsApp to adopt the best security procedures and defense of the privacy of its users – which, according to the magistrate, was not done.
Wanted, WhatsApp did not respond until the publication of the report.
I have over 8 years of experience in the news industry. I have worked for various news websites and have also written for a few news agencies. I mostly cover healthcare news, but I am also interested in other topics such as politics, business, and entertainment. In my free time, I enjoy writing fiction and spending time with my family and friends.
