India Pulls Plug on Dorsey's Bitchat, GitHub Next 😬

India's Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) ordered GitHub to remove three repositories tied to Jack Dorsey's open-source Bluetooth mesh messaging app Bitchat, according to Notice No. 11072601011432 issued July 23, 2026 under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act 2000 read with Rule 3(1)(d) of the IT Rules 2021. GitHub was given a three-hour deadline to comply. Dorsey disclosed the takedown order on X on July 24, 2026, posting the notice publicly.

The I4C directive arrived while mobile internet was suspended in a 1.5 km radius around Jantar Mantar and parts of Connaught Place in Central Delhi. Students camping at the site since June over NEET 2026 examination irregularities had turned to Bitchat as cellular networks went dark. The app's Bluetooth Low Energy mesh architecture relays messages hop-by-hop between nearby devices without internet, mobile networks, phone numbers, or central servers.

I4C characterized the mesh setup as materially impeding the maintenance of public order, according to the notice reviewed by Dorsey. The Internet Freedom Foundation called the order unconstitutional and noted that removing source code cannot disable the app on devices that already have it installed.

GitHub and the Ministry of Home Affairs had not publicly commented on compliance status or appeal options as of publication. No arrests, user data requests, or additional platform takedowns related to the Bitchat order have been reported, and $BTC and $ETH markets showed no reaction to the news.