wandering soul

[T. Prashant Reddy @Preddy85]

Apparently you need permission to roam the streets.

[Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) @internetfreedom]

Statement : The removal of BitChat from the India App Store is unconstitutional. Section 69A permits the blocking of unlawful information, not of a messenger for working during internet shutdowns.

New Delhi, 3 October 2026

An Apple App Review notice published today by Jack Dorsey on X records that BitChat has been removed from the India App Store "per demand from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology", issued under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, on the ground that the application "includes content that is illegal in India". The notice adds that BitChat's TestFlight builds are no longer available for testing in India. It does not identify the content said to be illegal or the ground under Section 69A invoked. The blocking order has not been published. The Internet Freedom Foundation condemns the order and calls for its immediate publication and withdrawal.

BitChat relays end-to-end encrypted messages between nearby phones over Bluetooth mesh. It has no servers and hosts no content of its own. What travels through it is the private speech of its users, so the claim that the application "includes" illegal content is incoherent. The State's actual objection stands recorded in the notices the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre issued on 23 July 2026 to GitHub, Google and Apple against BitChat, Briar and Bridgefy which stated that such applications work even during internet shutdowns and hamper lawful interception, attribution and traceability. Those notices, issued under Section 79(3)(b) were reportedly withdrawn after public disclosure. The same end has now been pursued through Section 69A. The objection is to capability of an application, not to content it transmits. A citizen's ability to speak to another citizen while the State has switched the internet off is not a ground of restriction under Section 69A or Article 19(2) of the Constitution.

Section 69A survived constitutional scrutiny in Shreya Singhal v. Union of India (2015) because of its safeguards which included the need for a reasoned, recorded order, committee review, and a hearing to the originator under Rule 8 of the Blocking Rules, 2009, which the Delhi High Court enforced in Tanul Thakur v. Union of India (2022). Further, Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India (2020) requires that orders restricting fundamental rights be published and adopt the least restrictive measure. However, it appears in this instance, each safeguard has been evaded. A secret order blocking an entire application, rather than any identified unlawful information, is the most restrictive and disproprotionate measure available. Further, the confidentiality claimed under Rule 16 cannot defeat the right to challenge an order, and the constitutionality of this blocking regime is itself pending consideration before the Supreme Court.

While removal from the App Store does not delete BitChat from phones, it stops new downloads and security updates, leaving existing users on unpatched versions, and it ends security testing in India through TestFlight. During the Jantar Mantar protests, when mobile internet was suspended and jammers were deployed, Bluetooth mesh messaging was a channel of last resort through which young people coordinated their safety. To our knowledge, Apple has removed BitChat on a government's demand in only one other country. This is in China, in April this year.

Our demands

1. MeitY must publish the blocking order, the ground invoked and the record of the committee's proceedings, and serve the developers with a copy and an opportunity of hearing.

2. The direction must be withdrawn. Any specific unlawful use must be met with targeted proceedings under due process, not the removal of a communications tool for everyone.

3. Apple must disclose the demand in its transparency reporting and notify its users in India, and must state whether parallel directions have been received in respect of other app stores.

4. The secrecy of the blocking regime must end. The Blocking Rules, 2009 should be amended to require publication of orders and notice to originators, without awaiting the outcome of the pending constitutional challenge.

The Internet Freedom Foundation will file applications under the Right to Information Act seeking a copy of the order, and stands ready to assist the developers and affected users in India.

[jack @jack]

government of India officially removes bitchat from the App Store

[Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו @netanyahu]

My salute to the Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar for his extraordinary bravery.

Despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door, and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker — preventing a catastrophic mid-air disaster.

He saved the lives of 174 people, including Israeli citizens and other nationals.

I wish Captain Machchhar a speedy and full recovery.

He is a true hero.

[.... @ynakg2]

😀

[S S Karthikeya @ssk1122]

Annaaaaaaaa….❤️❤️❤️

Here comes my APOCALYPTIC MASS HURRICANE moment 🤗🤗🤗

@tarak9999 anna is coming to meet us all after a long time… ❤️
Let’s have some amazing evening together on Sep 29th :)

#DontTroubleTheTrouble #DTTTMovie #DTTTonOct2nd

[ak. @fridayystan]

DRAGON REIGNS.

[Saynotolibrandu @saynotolibrandu]

An Indian-origin Australian girl whose family went missing in the Nepal floods responding to vile racism with pure grace and poise is living proof of why Hindu resilience drives these trolls crazy. They’re stuck living in so much inner darkness that seeing someone radiate light breaks their brains, so they try dragging everyone down into the mud with them.

Colonizers can’t handle seeing the people they once oppressed completely surpass them. The sheer composure this young lady showed proves she was raised in a secure, loving home, something these hate-filled losers know nothing about.

Never forget that Australia’s first bunch of immigrants: British settlers were literal convicts. When you see this level of sociopathic behavior online, it’s just genetic inheritance doing its thing.

[Laxmi Kant | Sorry Bravia @laxmimerit]

Such a liar. I challenge you to produce the email which you sent me on 7th July 2026.

Sony India put a date in a ₹5 crore legal notice that does not exist.

Paragraph 5 claims they emailed me on 07.07.2026.

Six pages of threats and they lied on the very first date.

You demand ₹5 crore from me for telling the truth. What should I demand from you for putting a lie in a legal notice?

Two months, and the one question I asked on 14 July is still unanswered: how did you decide?

https://t.co/Tz5S96zHCx

@Sony @sony_india
#SorryBravia

[Telugu Bit @Telugubit]

Such a beautiful memory of Bagheera.

#JrNTR

[THE SKIN DOCTOR @theskindoctor13]

@NHAI_Official That's certainly not rumble strips. You are sadly mistaken if you think you can pass off flat-topped speed breakers as rumble strips. These are speed breakers and are undoubtedly a safety hazard for highway drivers.

[𝗕𝝤𝗕𝗕𝗬✌️ @mekavannepuli]

Bollywood and every other industry should stay away from Ramayana and Mahabharata. No one can do them like us. This one came out in 1966. #Aura

[COPWATCH INDIA @copwatchIN]

Telangana Police!

OP Trucked Shyamal :

Open extortion in the name of excise on Telangana border!

Today, as I entered Telangana, I saw that at the same border which was closed by the government a long time ago, illegal extortion of ₹20 to ₹200 was being done from truck drivers in the name of excise.

As soon as I stopped, I was asked for ₹200, and my camera recorded it all. The most astonishing thing was that the guard demanding the money had no proper uniform, no nameplate, no cap. He was standing in slippers and a shirt with broken buttons, accompanied by a private officer.

When I protested, their in-charge arrived. He was also wearing slippers and without the proper uniform. I asked him tough questions, and after a while, he changed his clothes and returned in full uniform. After that, I spoke to him openly and registered my protest about the entire matter.

I blocked the road for a few minutes so that the officials could come to the spot, but other truck drivers

[Feminazi Sl@yer 🗡️ @Smash_Gynocracy]

What a F*CKED UP society we Indians have created for ourselves.

Two men got into an accident when a policeman suddenly opened his car's door without looking at the traffic.

Instead of helping and asking if they were injured, the policeman started beating them up. 😡

[Prasads Multiplex @PrasadsCinemas]

Idhi teliyali antey, mundhu neeku maa Odysseus katha teliyali.. 🌊

#TheOdyssey #Prasads #PrasadsMultiplex

[Wasabi @wasabi_5555]

"When your manager is really suspicious of your medical leave"

[Dragon @DragonMovieOffl]

And then, the DEVIL was born 🔥

Wishing our LUGER @Tarak9999 a very Happy Birthday 🌋

#DRAGON will go beyond limits to deliver a celebration of cinema on June 11, 2027 💥

#DragonGlimpse
▶️ https://t.co/o948gnic0C

#HappyBirthdayNTR

[Jr NTR @tarak9999]

The Son of Shiva.
The Pride of Parvathi.
The Eternal Commander.

And, once again with TRIVIKRAM.

#NTRxTrivikram

[thaman S @MusicThaman]

🦚🙌🏿✨ !!