Explained: Why govt wants Jack Dorsey’s Bitchat app removed and why digital rights groups disagree

India’s Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) has directed GitHub, the Microsoft-owned code hosting platform, to remove an open-source Bluetooth messaging application ‘Bitchat’ built by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. The notice was issued on July 23 and Dorsey shared it publicly on X on Friday.

With the notice, Dorsey wrote, “The government of India does not like technologies like bitchat and wants it taken down.” Digital rights group Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) has since called the order “unconstitutional and authoritarian”.