Apple has halted downloads of the anonymous messaging app Secret from its Brazilian App Store, following a preliminary injunction by a Vitória civil court earlier this week.

According to local media reports, Secret is still in [company]Apple[/company]’s Brazilian App Store but cannot be downloaded. iOS users with non-Brazilian accounts can apparently still download the app, and there’s no sign of Apple remotely wiping or disabling the app, as the injunction also orders it to.

The injunction was granted to a public prosecutor, who said many people had complained about bullying taking place on Secret. As a countering balance to its free speech provisions, the Brazilian constitution forbids anonymity – you can say what you like, but you can’t do so anonymously because that would mean your target can’t defend herself. (This doesn’t apply to journalistic sources, who can remain anonymous.)

When granting the injunction, the judge also noted that…