Overview
- India’s Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre issued a notice dated July 23 that directed GitHub to remove three Bitchat URLs, naming the main repository, the Android repository, and the Android releases page.
- The notice invoked Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act and Rule 3(1)(d) of the 2021 IT Rules and said Bitchat’s Bluetooth mesh design impedes lawful interception and could be used to coordinate unlawful assemblies.
- Jack Dorsey posted images of the I4C order on X, making the notice public while GitHub had not confirmed whether it would comply with the three-hour deadline.
- Digital-rights groups including the Internet Freedom Foundation called the order unlawful and disproportionate and asked for publication of takedown orders, citing legal limits on using intermediary rules to block whole code projects.
- Observers and reporters noted that a platform takedown cannot stop already installed copies or the many forks and mirrors of this open-source code, and that governments have limited technical control over Bluetooth mesh networks.