India's Internet Freedom Foundation challenged the government's takedown order against BitChat repositories on GitHub, arguing the directive violates constitutional protections and exceeds legal authority.
The digital rights group contested India's demand to remove code repositories associated with Jack Dorsey's BitChat project. BitChat functions as a decentralized messaging protocol built on Bitcoin infrastructure, designed to enable censorship-resistant communication.
India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued the takedown order under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, claiming the repositories posed national security risks. The government alleged BitChat could facilitate illegal activities and undermine state authority.
The Internet Freedom Foundation countered that the order lacks legal grounding. India's IT Act Section 69A permits takedowns only for specific enumerated offenses, the group argued. Decentralized messaging code does not automatically qualify under these categories. The foundation stated the order represents overreach that chills legitimate open-source development and violates Article 19 of India's Constitution, which protects freedom of expression.
GitHub initially complied with the takedown. The removal sparked outcry from the open-source development community, which viewed the action as government censorship of non-infringing technical content.
BitChat itself remains operational on blockchain infrastructure independent of GitHub. The removal targeted only the development repositories, not the actual protocol. This distinction matters: source code availability helps developers audit security and contribute improvements. Restricting access harms transparency without stopping the underlying technology.
The case reflects broader tensions between Indian authorities and decentralized technologies. The government has moved aggressively against cryptocurrency exchanges and privacy-focused platforms. The BitChat takedown signals willingness to target blockchain-native communication tools.
Dorsey, Twitter's former CEO and known Bitcoin maximalist, has positioned BitChat as infrastructure for free speech. The project aligns with his libertarian views on decentralization and resistance to corporate platform