Probe on Rio Political Murder Ignites Privacy Battle With Google

Prosecutors seek mobile data to investigate 2018 murder: Globo
Rio de Janeiro councilwoman Franco investigated militias

Posters depicting councilwoman Marielle Franco hang on display, the day after she was murdered, in Rio de Janeiro.Photographer: Dado Galdieri/Bloomberg

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January 30, 2020 at 1:36 PM EST

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Nearly two years after the drive-by shooting of a Rio de Janeiro councilwoman sparked international outcry, Alphabet Inc.’s Google is in a conundrum technology giants are familiar with around the world: protecting client data even when under pressure from law enforcement.

Google is fighting a request by state prosecutors to gain mobile phone data that could uncover additional conspirators in the 2018 murder of Marielle Franco, a 38-year-old black, left-wing politician from one of Rio’s poorest and most violent communities, newspaper O Globo reported on Thursday.

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