The Indian government has directed GitHub to remove repositories hosting Bitchat — the decentralised messaging application developed by Jack Dorsey — citing concerns that the platform could be exploited to evade lawful surveillance and facilitate unlawful activities. Dorsey disclosed the order on Friday, 24 July, by sharing the official notice on social media platform X.

The Notice and Its Legal Basis

The takedown order was issued by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), the cybercrime arm of the Ministry of Home Affairs, under provisions of the Information Technology Act and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. GitHub was given a window of just three hours to disable access to the identified repositories.

The order invokes Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act, Rule 3(1)(d) of the IT Intermediary Guidelines, and relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. According to the notice, three repositories linked to the Bitchat project — including the primary repository and its Android version — have been flagged for removal.

Why the Government Flagged Bitchat

The notice states that Bitchat enables decentralised peer-to-peer messaging over Bluetooth mesh networks without relying on mobile networks, internet connectivity, or centralised servers. This architecture, authorities argue, makes lawful interception, attribution, and investigation by law enforcement agencies significantly more difficult.

Intelligence inputs cited in the notice suggest that platforms with such architecture could reportedly be misused to coordinate unlawful assemblies, violent protests, the spread of misinformation, radicalisation, and criminal conspiracies that may threaten India's sovereignty, national security, and public order.

How Bitchat Works

Bitchat uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) mesh networking, allowing nearby smartphones to relay encrypted messages from one device to another. As more devices join the network, messages can travel longer distances by hopping across connected devices — without any internet or cellular signal required.

Unlike conventional messaging applications such as WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram, Bitchat does not require user registration or internet connectivity. This makes it functional during network outages, but also considerably harder for authorities to monitor.

Context: Protests and Internet Shutdowns

The development comes amid ongoing Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) protests in Delhi, during which authorities reportedly suspended mobile internet services in parts of the national capital. The restrictions are said to have increased public interest in decentralised communication tools capable of functioning without internet or cellular connectivity — tools precisely like Bitchat.

Notably, this is not the first time Indian authorities have moved against communication platforms during periods of civil unrest. The use of internet shutdowns as a law-and-order measure has drawn recurring criticism from digital rights groups, and this order is likely to intensify that debate.

What Happens Next

It remains to be seen whether GitHub has complied with the order. Dorsey's decision to publicly share the notice — rather than quietly comply — signals a pushback from the developer community. Digital rights advocates are expected to scrutinise the legal grounds of the order, particularly the three-hour compliance window, which critics argue leaves no room for due process.