GitHub Removes Protest Organizing App that was Used in Spain

• Spain becomes the third country to officially ask GitHub to block access to a repository.
• The file that was hosted in the particular repo was a .apk that helped protesters in Catalonia.
• The Spanish government has placed website blocks, GitHub blocks, and may soon target social media too.

Spain is in stir again, with thousands of people gathering in the streets of Barcelona, expressing their objection to treating Catalan political leaders with no respect for fundamental democratic rights. For months now, the Catalonian independence matter has been re-ignited, and the situation remains under control only thanks to excessive police violence that isn’t honoring the international image of a European country in 2019. As is always the case, riot organizers and demonstration participants use software tools to communicate, coordinate their activities, and unite against police movements. One of those apps was officially backed by the activist group known as “Tsunami Democratic”, who uploaded the .apk file onto GitHub.

However, the Spanish government asked Microsoft to take care of “the problem”, and the owner of GitHub complied by removing the file from its platform. GitHub is publishing every takedown request that they receive, and that is how we know of the details. Governmental takedown requests are usually featuring a geographic scope, which in this case is Spain, so protesters can still use a VPN tool to access the blocked repository. Previously, Tsunami Democratic offered the app for download on their own online portal, but the government ordered the takedown of many websites (including theirs) by the ISPs that are serving the country.

This story reminds us of Apple’s takedown of the “Hkmap” app from the App Store, which was helping Hong Kong protesters organize, monitor the police’s movements, and act accordingly. For the Spanish government to act similarly to notorious oppressive regimes such as that of China is a new stretch. In fact, the Spanish government became only the third to ask GitHub to block something, after China and Russia. All that said, the upheaval in Spain isn’t showing signs of calming down any time soon.

If you’re in Spain and in need of a reliable VPN tool, check out our list with the best choices that work well in the country. With all that is going on, using a VPN in Spain is no longer solely about accessing blocked resources, but most importantly, maintaining a certain level of privacy, anonymity, and safety. The Spanish government is looking ready to take things to the next level, and people who are opposing them should be protected in every way possible.

Can you give us some insight into what is going on in Catalonia right now? Are there any social media blockages as well? Share any information that you can with us in the section down below, or on our channels on Facebook and Twitter.