Low-income consumers will be the most impacted with the possible end of unlimited WhatsApp in operator packages

Currently, operators sell data packages with a consumption limit franchise. Through agreements with technology companies, applications such as Whatsapp are excluded from the consumption of data.

Unlimited access to WhatsApp has become an important differentiator in plan sales in the country. According to data from the TIC Domicílios survey, carried out by the Ponto BR Information and Coordination Center, 62% of Brazilians access the internet exclusively through mobile devices.

The survey also shows that the device’s main use in the country is for exchanging messages. According to lawyer Lorrana Gomes, specialist in consumer law, the measure should mainly impact low-income consumers who depend on the packages. She explains that at the time of contracting the package, there are terms that define the expiration date. By extrapolating the term, operators can limit the use to predetermined applications in the contract.

“Extrapolating this expiry date is possible, yes, the determination that WhatsApp is limited, but this will vary according to the plan of each consumer and according to the individuality of the hiring of each one. But operators in general, they are not obliged to maintain the condition in a fixed way, ”he says.

However, operators must inform consumers in advance, as the lawyer points out.

“I imagine that they will notify each consumer in advance, explaining the end of the package or changing the terms of the packages that are used for unlimited WhatsApp and giving the consumer a period of time to adapt. If he is going to make a package per account, the one that we pay at the end of the month or if he is going to continue using prepaid means, but in this way unlimited the messaging application”.

The specialist also emphasizes that the measure does not violate the consumerist laws of Brazil as long as all the minutiae of the prior notification are respected.

“The contract does not have such a marked irregularity, but it is important to emphasize that the consumer will be the one most affected. So, a person who made an appointment online and had the opportunity to read the term cannot question it later, but that person who made the appointment via text message and it was written that WhatsApp would be limited and had no deadline, maybe that person will get some appeal. But we are certainly going to have some objections from Procon and the regulatory bodies ”, he points out.

For businessman Phillip Oliveira, the measure harms professionals who use the application to work.

“This attitude of operators is yet another attempt to increase profits on top of the population. We already pay very expensive plans for the Brazilian reality. The least that phone companies have to do is provide the basics for communication. If you remove unlimited WhatsApp, it will harm many people who even work with it. Who is on the street working with WhatsApp ”, he says.

Operators argue that in order to provide unlimited services, they assume data supply costs or charge these amounts from application providers.