Apple removes offline messaging application Bitchat from India App Store over security concerns
Apple on Saturday removed the offline messaging application Bitchat from its India App Store following a demand from the country’s IT ministry.The app’s developer and Twitter co-founder, Jack Dorsey, attached Apple’s notice to his post on X.“Government of India officially removes Bitchat from the App Store,” wrote Dorsey. His post included a screenshot of what appeared to be a notice from Apple’s app review team.In the latest notice, which Dorsey tagged in his post, Apple said the app would be removed “per demand from the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY)” and because “it includes content that is illegal in India”.“We are writing to notify you that your application, per demand from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), will be removed from the India App Store because it includes content that is illegal in India, which is not in compliance with the app review guidelines,” the attached notice said. PTI reported.The notice added that the relevant section of the guidelines requires apps to comply with all legal requirements in any location where they are offered, and that developers are responsible for understanding and following local laws, over and above Apple’s own guidelines, PTI reported.According to the post, MeitY issued the takedown demand under Section 69(A) of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Apple’s notice said the app’s developer could contact the ministry directly for more information about the removal or about Indian laws and requirements.“The TestFlight version of this app will also be unavailable for external and internal testing in India, and all public TestFlight links will no longer be functional,” it said.However, this is not the first time Bitchat has attracted scrutiny from the government. In July, the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) had ordered GitHub to take down the Bluetooth-based messaging application.The July action came during protests by the Cockroach Janta Party over exam paper leaks. In its notice at the time, the I4C had said the app enables communication even during network restrictions and creates a substantial risk of misuse by anti-national elements, terrorist organisations, organised criminal groups and cyber criminals seeking to evade lawful detection and continue communication despite legally imposed restrictions.According to PTI, that notice followed reports that several users taking part in a Cockroach Janata Party protest at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, had been seen using Bluetooth-based messaging apps despite the temporary restrictions the government had imposed on internet services around the protest site.
