India orders GitHub to remove Bitchat code amid protests

India ordered GitHub to remove Bitchat's code, citing security risks as protesters used it during internet blackouts. Critics called the move unconstitutional, and the app stayed available elsewhere.

India's Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), under the Ministry of Home Affairs, ordered GitHub to remove the code repositories for Bitchat, an open-source Bluetooth mesh messaging app linked to Jack Dorsey. The directive, issued under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act 2000 and Rule 3(1)(d) of the IT Rules 2021, required GitHub to comply within three hours. Authorities argued that Bitchat's decentralized, serverless architecture hinders lawful interception and could be exploited during public unrest, riots, terrorism, or internet shutdowns. The action followed reports that protesters in Delhi, including student groups, used Bitchat to communicate during government-imposed internet blackouts. Jack Dorsey publicly shared the takedown notice, while the Internet Freedom Foundation criticized the order as unconstitutional, noting that removing repositories does not affect already-installed apps. As of Friday, Bitchat remained available on major app stores, and experts highlighted the challenge of fully removing open-source code from the internet.