India Orders GitHub to Remove Jack Dorsey’s Offline…

Why Is India Targeting Bitchat?

India’s cybercrime coordination agency has ordered GitHub to disable access to three repositories linked to Bitchat, the decentralized messaging application developed by Block chief executive and Bitcoin advocate Jack Dorsey. The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, which operates under the Home Ministry, issued the notice late Thursday under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act. GitHub was given three hours to restrict access to the repositories. The order said Bitchat allows anonymous communication without registration, phone numbers or centralized logs. It argued that the app’s architecture makes lawful interception, attribution and investigations more difficult for law enforcement agencies. Dorsey criticized the decision in a post on X, writing that “the government of india does not like technologies like bitchat and wants it taken down.” Whether GitHub complied within the three-hour deadline was unclear. The application remained available through Apple and Google app stores during Asian hours on Friday, although repository access and app-store distribution are handled separately.

How Does Bitchat Work Without The Internet?

Bitchat relays encrypted messages between nearby phones through Bluetooth mesh networks. It does not require an internet connection, central server, phone number or user account, allowing messages to move from device to device until they reach their destination. The open-source app was released in July 2025 for situations in which conventional communications infrastructure is unavailable, including natural disasters, network outages and government-imposed internet shutdowns. Bitchat can also relay Bitcoin transactions offline. A transaction can pass between phones through the mesh until one connected device broadcasts it to the Bitcoin network. That function extends the app beyond messaging by offering a way to keep digital payments moving during connectivity disruptions. The takedown order followed reports that demonstrators in New Delhi were using Bluetooth-based messaging tools during repeated internet suspensions around protest sites. Student-led demonstrations that began in June and escalated with a July 20 march on Parliament. For authorities, the same features that make mesh applications useful during shutdowns also reduce their ability to monitor communications through centralized service providers. For users, those features offer a way to coordinate when mobile data and fixed internet services are blocked.

Investor Takeaway

The dispute tests how governments may treat decentralized communications and offline Bitcoin tools. Removing one repository may restrict distribution, but open-source code can be copied and hosted elsewhere, making a complete shutdown difficult.

Is The Takedown Order Legally Valid?

India’s Internet Freedom Foundation challenged the legal basis of the order, arguing that the government used Section 79(3)(b) instead of the country’s formal website-blocking process. The organization said the standard blocking procedure includes safeguards that were not applied in this case. It called on the government to withdraw the notice and publish other takedown orders issued under the same provision. The group also disputed the government’s justification because the notice reportedly did not identify specific unlawful material inside the repositories. Instead, it treated Bitchat’s decentralized design and its ability to operate outside conventional communications networks as grounds for removal. The case therefore goes beyond one application. It raises a legal question over whether governments can restrict open-source software because of how it may be used, even when the code itself does not contain identified illegal content.

Can A GitHub Takedown Stop Bitchat?

GitHub has removed repositories in response to Indian legal orders before. A takedown, however, may have limited practical effect on software released under an open-source model because copies can be mirrored across other hosting platforms or shared directly between users. Blocking the original repositories could reduce visibility, slow development and make new downloads less convenient. It would not necessarily remove versions of the code that have already been copied or installed. Authorities may therefore need to pursue app stores, websites and other distributors if they want to limit access more broadly. Even then, Bluetooth-based applications can remain difficult to control once installation files are circulating between users. Bitchat has reportedly gained adoption during protests, disasters and internet outages in several countries, including Madagascar, Nepal, Uganda, Jamaica and Iran. That pattern shows how demand for offline communication can rise quickly when centralized networks become unreliable or inaccessible. The immediate issue is whether GitHub will comply with, narrow or challenge the Indian order. The larger test is whether decentralized communications software will be treated as protected open-source code or as infrastructure that governments can restrict because it limits surveillance and interception.