GUWAHATI: The Indian government has directed GitHub to remove Bitchat, a Bluetooth-based messaging app developed by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, after protesters used it to communicate during internet shutdowns in central Delhi.
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The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), the Home Ministry's cybercrime arm, ordered Microsoft-owned GitHub to remove the Bluetooth-based messaging application.
Dorsey shared the notice on X, saying, "The Government of India does not like technologies like Bitchat and wants it taken down."
The order, issued by the I4C, directs GitHub to remove or disable access to three repositories hosting Bitchat, citing its potential use to bypass internet shutdowns, evade lawful interception, and coordinate unlawful assemblies.
The notice was issued at 11:16 PM on July 23 under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act, 2000, read with Rule 3(1)(d) of the IT Rules, 2021, and GitHub subsequently complied.
The move comes amid intensifying protests by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) over accountability in education, following the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in the NEET paper leak case, with the Home Ministry enforcing its fifth internet shutdown around Jantar Mantar since July 17.
The Internet Freedom Foundation condemned the order as unconstitutional and authoritarian, arguing it failed to cite any unlawful content and instead targeted the app for enabling communication during restrictions.