Apple removed Bitchat, the decentralized messaging app created by Block CEO Jack Dorsey, from its China App Store at the request of Beijing's internet regulator, according to a Sunday tweet by Dorsey.

The Cyberspace Administration of China argued the peer-to-peer messaging app violated regulations governing “Internet-based Information Services With Attribute of Public Opinions of Capable of Social Mobilization.”

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Bitchat has become a tool of choice during recent protests in Madagascar, Uganda, Iran, Nepal and Indonesia, where authorities have attempted to restrict internet access. Its mesh networking technology allows messages to hop between devices without central servers or internet infrastructure, making it particularly valuable during government-imposed connectivity blackouts.

The removal reflects Beijing's broader strategy of maintaining control over digital communications. China's dominant messaging platform WeChat serves 1.34 billion monthly active users out of a national population of more than 1.4 billion, operating under strict government oversight and content moderation requirements that Bitchat's architecture explicitly avoids.

Following Apple ejecting ICEBlock, Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement that "we reached out to Apple today demanding they remove the ICEBlock app from their App Store — and Apple did so."