Jack Dorsey’s Bitchat disappears from app stores in India after government order

The Indian government said in its order to GitHub at the time that Bitchat’s architecture made it hard for law enforcement agencies to intercept communications or trace users, and pointed to its ability to continue operating during internet shutdowns. The July order relied on a provision of India’s information technology law that deals with intermediaries and their liability for third-party content. That differs from Section 69A, cited in Apple’s latest notice.

The Internet Freedom Foundation, a New Delhi-based digital rights advocacy group, called the latest order unconstitutional, arguing that Section 69A allows the government to block unlawful information but not a messaging app because of its ability to operate during internet shutdowns. It also said neither the blocking order nor the allegedly illegal content cited as the basis for the action had been made public.

The latest restrictions on Bitchat come as India is seeing a fresh wave of ⁠youth-led protests over changes to the country’s voter rolls. Police detained several people during demonstrations in New Delhi on Saturday, as protesters demanded the resignation of India’s chief election commissioner over alleged manipulation of electoral rolls. Authorities suspended internet services around New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar for 12 hours on Friday during protests there.

During July’s protests, demonstrators reportedly turned to Bitchat and rival app Briar after authorities suspended internet services.

Interest in Bitchat surged in India around the same time. The country accounted for about 85% of the app’s global downloads between July 17 and July 23, up from roughly 1% in the previous 30 days, data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower showed.