Overview
- The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) issued a notice dated July 23 directing GitHub to remove or disable three Bitchat URLs, including the main project, an Android repository, and the Android releases page.
- I4C said Bitchat’s Bluetooth Low Energy mesh design lets phones relay messages without internet or accounts, which it argued would obstruct lawful interception and could be used to evade network shutdowns and coordinate unlawful assemblies.
- Jack Dorsey posted screenshots of the takedown notice on X on July 24 and said the government wanted the project taken down, while GitHub has not publicly confirmed whether it complied with the three‑hour removal window named in the order.
- Digital rights groups and tech lawyers have challenged the legal basis of the order, saying Section 79 is not normally used as an independent blocking power and that the notice did not identify specific unlawful content.
- Practical and technical limits already curb the order’s reach because Bitchat is open source, forks and mirrors appeared quickly, and copies already installed on phones continue to work, deepening debate over how states can control decentralised tools.