Brazilians have found themselves without the popular messaging app WhatsApp for the second time in six months.

Key points: Popular messaging application installed on nine out of ten phones in Brazil

Popular messaging application installed on nine out of ten phones in Brazil WhatsApp owners Facebook say there is no way to hand over information

WhatsApp owners Facebook say there is no way to hand over information Last suspension in December ended after just 12 hours

A small-town judge blocked WhatsApp nationwide for 72 hours because Facebook, its owner, failed to hand over information requested by the court.

The court order from Judge Marcel Montalvao in the north-eastern town of Lagarto, in Sergipe state, shut down WhatsApp on Monday.

According to Brazilian media reports, drug traffickers targeted in the investigation had been using WhatsApp to discuss their business.

It is the latest standoff between the Brazilian authorities and Facebook, which said it did not have the technical ability for cooperating with such requests.

Facebook's vice-president for Latin America, Diego Dzodan, was arrested in March and later released over the same case.

Police said at the time they were holding the Argentine national responsible for "repeated non-compliance with court orders".

But another judge in Sergipe state ordered his release the following day, ruling the arrest amounted to "unlawful coercion".

In a statement, WhatsApp said the company was "disappointed at the decision" after doing its utmost to cooperate with Brazilian tribunals.

The decision "punishes more than 100 million users who depend upon us to communicate themselves, run their business and more, just to force us to hand over information that we don't have," the statement said, without elaborating.

WhatsApp was previously suspended in Brazil in December over another case, which ended after about 12 hours when a higher court in Sao Paulo state threw out the two-day suspension.

WhatsApp users slam decision

WhatsApp is widely used in Brazil, where cell phone fees for texting and calls are among the highest in the world.

The free app is installed on nine in 10 smartphones in the country.

WhatsApp and Facebook deny obstructing justice and say they have done whatever they can to help.

Monday's shutdown drew disbelieving reactions from frustrated users online.

Like many Brazilians who rely on the service, Twitter user Acaua Tavares reacted with the Portuguese acronym "PQP," roughly equivalent to "WTF?" in English.

"WhatsApp blocked again, PQP! That's Brazil," he wrote.

Many reacted with a single question: "Again?"

Brazil's five mobile phone providers all complied with the court order. Media reports said they would have faced fines of $140,000 a day for failing to do so.

During the last shutdown, the providers appealed against the court order, arguing it affected millions of people unconnected to the case.

A Facebook spokesman in Brazil declined to comment.

AFP/REUTERS