India Moved to Take Down BitChat Repositories
Prelims:
Indian Polity and
Governance, Science and Technology
Mains:
GS Paper II – Governance
and Constitution, GS Paper III – Internal Security
Current
relevance:
The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), functioning under the Ministry of Home Affairs, directed GitHub on July 23 to remove three repositories hosting BitChat.
Highlights:
1. The government stated that BitChat’s
decentralised and anonymous communication system could be misused to:
i.
Coordinate unlawful
assemblies and violent protests
ii.
Circumvent lawful
restrictions during public-order situations
iii.
Evade surveillance and lawful
interception
iv.
Spread misinformation and
facilitate radicalisation
v.
Support terrorism, organised
crime and criminal conspiracies
2. The government order
directs GitHub to:
i.
Remove and disable access to three BitChat repositories, including
the Android application and associated release files, within three hours of receiving the communication, while preserving
all relevant evidence.
ii.
The notice also warns that
failure to comply may result in criminal
prosecution.
3. Legal Framework:
i.
Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000
ii.
Rule 3(1)(d) of the Information Technology (Intermediary
Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021
4. BitChat:
i.
It is a decentralised peer-to-peer messaging application, creates temporary
communication networks among devices located near one another.
ii.
It operates through Bluetooth mesh networks and does not
require internet connectivity, centralised servers, phone numbers, mandatory
user registration.
Source: THE HINDU - https://www.pressreader.com/india/the-hindu-kochi-9ww8/20260727/282398406203390?srsltid=AfmBOoon3Zj2MKg2mhwv0mXoVT0X9_lNfDh8lUnbZsZrW7l0NaC7bVKV