Indian government orders Google to block these offline messaging apps
What's the story
The Indian government has ordered tech giant Google to take down three offline messaging apps: Bitchat, Briar, and Bridgefy. The notice was issued by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), which works under the Ministry of Home Affairs. The move comes after a similar takedown request was sent to GitHub on July 23 for Jack Dorsey's Bitchat repositories during a recent student protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.
Security risks
Government's concerns over apps
The I4C notice to Google flagged the three apps as decentralized communication platforms that can enable peer-to-peer messaging via Bluetooth mesh networks without needing internet or mobile networks.
The government is worried these apps could be misused to bypass lawful surveillance, enable anonymous coordination, and bypass lawful restrictions imposed by competent authorities during public disorder situations.
Information
Potential misuse of apps
Intelligence inputs suggest that platforms like Bitchat, Briar, and Bridgefy could be misused for coordinating unlawful assemblies, violent protests, spreading misinformation, radicalization, and criminal conspiracies. The government believes these activities could be detrimental to India's sovereignty and integrity as well as defense and public order.
Recent protests
Why these apps were used during protests
The government's action comes amid increased scrutiny of such communication tools after the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP)-led protests in Delhi.
These protests ended after 36 days on July 25 with the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Mobile internet services around Jantar Mantar were suspended several times during these protests, leading to the use of apps that let users communicate without mobile or internet infrastructure.
Implementation hurdles
Experts' take on blocking apps
Experts have warned that blocking apps like Bitchat, Briar, and Bridgefy won't be easy as they are built on decentralized, open-source architecture rather than centralized servers.
Even if an app is removed from the Play Store or its source code repository on GitHub is taken down, it doesn't disable copies already installed on users' devices.