India Seeks Removal of 3 Bitchat Repositories as Protests Test Encrypted Mesh App
Updated
Updated · Bloomberg · Jul 24
India Seeks Removal of 3 Bitchat Repositories as Protests Test Encrypted Mesh App
3 articles · Updated · Bloomberg · Jul 24
Summary
India’s cybercrime agency asked GitHub to take down three repositories containing Bitchat’s source code, according to a notice posted by co-founder Jack Dorsey.
Bitchat is an encrypted peer-to-peer messaging app that gained prominence during Nepal’s 2025 Gen Z protests and can operate through decentralized connections.
New Delhi’s move comes as it grapples with student protests at home, where officials have worried such apps could bypass internet shutdowns and frustrate lawful interception.
GitHub, owned by Microsoft, was the target of the takedown request, putting open-source code hosting at the center of India’s effort to curb protest-linked communications tools.