India Orders Removal of Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey-Backed Bitchat App
What Happened
Bitchat, the decentralized offline messaging app backed by Jack Dorsey, has been removed from Apple’s India App Store following a takedown demand from India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) under Section 69A of the IT Act. Dorsey confirmed the move by sharing Apple’s notice, which stated the app contained content considered illegal in India. Reports also indicated that Bitchat was unavailable on Google Play in India and that its website was inaccessible at the time of checks.
Key Takeaways
The action marks the latest regulatory scrutiny of Bitchat in India. The app, which uses Bluetooth mesh networking to enable communication without internet or mobile networks, had previously faced restrictions when authorities sought the removal of related GitHub repositories.