Crypto
Home›Crypto›Regulation›India orders GitHub to remove Bitchat code repositories
India orders GitHub to remove Bitchat code repositories
The cybercrime notice gave GitHub three hours to remove and disable access to three repositories tied to the Bluetooth, offline messaging app.
India’s Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), under the Ministry of Home Affairs, ordered GitHub to remove and disable three code repositories related to Bitchat, a decentralized messaging app built by Jack Dorsey. The agency said GitHub had three hours to comply, citing India’s IT Act and the 2021 IT Rules.
According to Decrypt, the notice named repositories under the “permissionlesstech” account, including the main Bitchat project, its Android build, and an Android releases page. The I4C invoked Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act, 2000 and Rule 3(1)(d) of the 2021 IT Rules, and directed GitHub to “remove and disable access” to the code.
I4C said the app’s Bluetooth-based, serverless design routes messages directly between nearby phones using Bluetooth mesh networks, without internet, servers, phone numbers, or accounts, which it said “significantly impedes lawful interception, attribution, and investigation.” The agency warned the technology could be misused during “public disorder, riots, terrorism,” or internet shutdowns.
The order also comes amid India’s broader youth-led protests over exam-paper leaks, during which demonstrators reportedly used offline tools such as Bitchat. Decrypt reports that Dorsey posted the takedown notice, while the Internet Freedom Foundation criticized the move as unconstitutional and said the order bypassed India’s blocking procedures.