New Delhi: The Union home ministry on Thursday (July 23) directed Github, a developer platform, to remove repositories hosting Bitchat, a Bluetooth-based messaging app developed by X founder Jack Dorsey, over concerns of misuse.“The government of India does not like technologies like bitchat and wants it taken down,” Dorsey wrote in a post on X, attaching screenshots of the communication received from the ministry’s Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C).Bitchat is a Bluetooth mesh messaging app that can function in situations where access to mobile internet and cellular service is restricted. The notice comes on the heels of internet shutdowns in parts of central Delhi since the Cockroach Janta Party’s protest march on July 20.In its order, I4C said that the app could be used to “evade lawful surveillance, facilitate anonymous coordination, and circumvent lawful restrictions imposed by competent authorities during situations involving public disorder, riots, terrorism, organized crime, or internet shutdowns.”I4C claimed that such decentralised communication platforms are prone to misuse for organising unlawful assemblies that could threaten the sovereignty and integrity of India.“Intelligence inputs indicate that such decentralized communication platforms are capable of being exploited for coordinating unlawful assemblies, violent protests, dissemination of misinformation, radicalization, 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,” the order read.The agency added that the absence of a centralised service provider prevented law enforcement agencies from accessing subscriber information and communication records.“The application’s design, which enables communication even during network restrictions, creates a substantial risk of misuse by anti-national elements, terrorist organizations, organized criminal groups, and cybercriminals seeking to evade lawful detection and continue communication despite legally imposed restrictions,” it added.While the government had asked Github to comply within 3 hours, the URLs remain accessible at the time of publishing this report.Similar apps like Bridgefy and FireChat have been used in the past by protesters around the world to evade government crackdown and disseminate information when internet access is limited.