India orders GitHub to remove Jack Dorsey's Bitchat code repositories following government concerns over messaging app use during protests.
Regulation & Gov ·
India's Cyber Crime Coordination Centre has directed GitHub to remove three code repositories for Bitchat, a decentralized messaging application, within three hours. The order, issued under the IT Act and the 2021 IT Rules, cited concerns that the Bluetooth-based, serverless platform impedes lawful surveillance and could enable coordination during public unrest, riots, or internet shutdowns. The directive names three repositories under the "permissionlesstech" account.
Bitchat operates by routing messages directly between nearby devices over Bluetooth mesh networks without requiring internet, servers, phone numbers, or user accounts. The app gained adoption among demonstrators during recent youth-led protests over exam-paper leaks in India, particularly when mobile internet was restricted around Parliament and major protest sites. Jack Dorsey, the former Twitter and Block chief, disclosed the takedown notice publicly, while the Internet Freedom Foundation characterized the action as unconstitutional and outside standard blocking procedures.
The removal of source code differs from app store bans in seeking to disable development outright, though open-source projects can be copied and mirrored. Within hours of India's order, Bitchat repositories were duplicated to alternative code platforms. Microsoft has not publicly confirmed whether it complied with the three-hour deadline.