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The Economic Times
The Economic Times
Nikhil Pahwa

You can’t ban a whisper: GitHub removes BitChat after government order, Section 79 powers come under scrutiny

GitHub Microsoft GoI India

On July 23, GoI ordered Microsoft subsidiary GitHub to take down its Bluetooth-based messaging app, BitChat. Issued under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act, the order from home ministry's cybercrime arm, Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), arrived even as an internet shutdown tried to prevent people from communicating during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protests that had spread through the heart of Delhi.

This order is illegal, and it should worry anyone who builds, or uses, technology in India.

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