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

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

#21
India is kind of cute.

In the late 90s I attended a Telephone industry conference while working for a telephony test equipment company. A rep. from the Indian government gave a talk on their telephone system regulations. During the question period I got up and asked how India was dealing with voice over internet protocol (VOIP). With a straight face the speaker replied "We will not allow it". :-)

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

#22
post #17

India is pretty serious about being able to monitor all communications after the terror attacks in Mumbai in 2008. The terrorists used satellite phones to coordinate the attack. As a result, they banned most satellite communication devices. I learned about this earlier this year because I had a connecting flight through India on the way to go trekking in the Himalayas. I had planned to take a Garmin inReach with me,…

So what happens if you have a flight that gets diverted to India and they search your bags and find a satellite phone?

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

#23
post #17

India is pretty serious about being able to monitor all communications after the terror attacks in Mumbai in 2008. The terrorists used satellite phones to coordinate the attack. As a result, they banned most satellite communication devices. I learned about this earlier this year because I had a connecting flight through India on the way to go trekking in the Himalayas. I had planned to take a Garmin inReach with me,…

So what happens if you have a flight that gets diverted to India and they search your bags and find a satellite phone?

Believe it or not, straight to jail.

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

#24
post #17

India is pretty serious about being able to monitor all communications after the terror attacks in Mumbai in 2008. The terrorists used satellite phones to coordinate the attack. As a result, they banned most satellite communication devices. I learned about this earlier this year because I had a connecting flight through India on the way to go trekking in the Himalayas. I had planned to take a Garmin inReach with me,…

So what happens if you have a flight that gets diverted to India and they search your bags and find a satellite phone?

The poster you're answering to just described what happens.

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

#25

Title should specify that it is Indian government. I was worried for a second there that it was the American government. I should have read the url though.

But how far are they from such a headline do you think?

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

#26

Title should specify that it is Indian government. I was worried for a second there that it was the American government. I should have read the url though.

But how far are they from such a headline do you think?

Will there be a headline?

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

#27

Title should specify that it is Indian government. I was worried for a second there that it was the American government. I should have read the url though.

But how far are they from such a headline do you think?

Something like this would be basically impossible in the US, and it wouldn't even matter what kind of administration tried it. The US government doesn't even order ISPs to block websites because they run afoul of all kinds of 1st amendment litigation. They just have the FBI seize a domain after a court order.

Honestly I would think something like this would come from the EU or UK. UK is trying to ban VPNs, EU is trying to ban private chat completely. EU countries routinely block whole swaths of IPs and websites, etc.

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

#28
post #17

India is pretty serious about being able to monitor all communications after the terror attacks in Mumbai in 2008. The terrorists used satellite phones to coordinate the attack. As a result, they banned most satellite communication devices. I learned about this earlier this year because I had a connecting flight through India on the way to go trekking in the Himalayas. I had planned to take a Garmin inReach with me,…

> I had a connecting flight through India

I make additional effort to never experience that again. Connecting flight through Mumbai. An absolutely awful experience.

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

#29

India is kind of cute. In the late 90s I attended a Telephone industry conference while working for a telephony test equipment company. A rep. from the Indian government gave a talk on their telephone system regulations. During the question period I got up and asked how India was dealing with voice over internet protocol (VOIP). With a straight face the speaker replied "We will not allow it". :-)

Lots of countries ban voip in some way or another. Not allowed to connect to the PSTN. Disrupted by licensed ISPs based on traffic inspection. Large vendors yelled at. Etc.
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