Government orders GitHub to remove Bluetooth-based chat app Bitchat: Jack Dorsey

Jack Dorsey just tossed a match into an already very online fire: he says India’s cybercrime agency told GitHub to take down Bitchat, a chat app that works over nearby phones even when regular internet access is restricted. Officials say that’s exactly the problem — the app could help criminals, violent groups, and other bad actors communicate when authorities are trying to lock things down, especially after protesters were reportedly seen using similar tools at a rally in Delhi.

But the comment section? Absolutely zero chill. One of the biggest mood-setters was the blunt, gloomy line, “Democracy Dies in Darkness,” which instantly turned the thread from software news into a free-speech brawl. Another commenter jumped in with a dry correction — “For clarity: Indian government.” Translation: let’s name names. Others went full cynical, with one hot take declaring that if the Modi government wants to ban something, it’s probably “good stuff.” That’s not debate; that’s a mic drop.

And of course, the internet did what it does best: troll the takedown in real time. One user simply posted that the app was “Still available” and dropped the GitHub link, which is peak online chaos energy. The wildest angle came from a commenter imagining Bluetooth itself getting an “antibody-esque suppression” upgrade — basically, a dystopian sci-fi subplot hiding in the replies. So yes, this is a story about an app. But really, it’s about the furious, funny, deeply suspicious crowd asking whether “public safety” is becoming code for “no talking out of turn.”