The central government on Friday directed GitHub to remove Bluetooth-based messaging application Bitchat. The development comes after the Delhi Police launched a probe to find if Bluetooth-based mobile apps were used during Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protests after suspension of internet services in parts of New Delhi this week.
"The government of india does not like technologies like bitchat and wants it taken down," Bitchat developer Jack Dorsey said in a post on X (previously Twitter).
The X co-founder also shared a copy of Ministry of Home Affairs' Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre's order, which said that GitHub enables communication even during network restrictions and creates a substantial risk of misuse by anti-national elements, terrorist organisations, organised criminal groups and cyber criminals seeking to evade lawful detection and continue communication despite legally imposed restrictions.
The MHA notice to GitHub
Referring to GitHub, the I4C said such apps could be misused for riots, organised crime, terrorism, unlawful assemblies, and the spread of rumours and misinformation. This violates the Sections 43, 84B and 84C of the IT Act and Section 61 read with 196 and 197, the notice read.
"Intelligence inputs indicate that such decentralised communication platforms are capable of being exploited for coordinating unlawful assemblies, violent protests, dissemination of misinformation, radicalisation, criminal conspiracies, and other activities prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the State, public order, and for facilitating the commission of cognizable offences," it said.
The use of Bitchat
During the CJP protests in the national capital, internet services were suspended in several parts, with reports emerging that Bluetooth-based mobile apps were used by protesters to communicate. The Delhi Police is probing the matter now and trying to gather digital evidence.
Bitchat is a decentralised, open-source messaging application that can function without mobile network and internet services, as it uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) which helps it creating a mesh network. The app does not require a person to create an account and it has an effective range of 10 to 100 metres. However, the ranger increases as more users join the mesh network.
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