Facebook executive released from jail in Brazil

According to police, investigators first contacted the company four months ago, but received no response.

Brazilian police argue that Facebook's stance is at odds with those of Yahoo, Google and local telecommunications companies, which have been willing to hand over user information to help investigations.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the company said, "arresting people with no connection to pending law enforcement investigation is a capricious step and we are concerned about the effects for the people of Brazil and innovation in the country."

While some companies have been willing to design systems in which intercepts were possible, many tech companies are taking the opposite approach in the wake of the outraged reaction to the U.S. National Security Agency's mass-surveillance program revealed by the whistleblower Edward Snowden.