BitcoinDev Email List Deleted by Google, Sparking Censorship Fears

On April 3rd, 2023, Ruben Somsen, a well-known Bitcoin developer, disclosed that the email list for the BitcoinDev development group had been permanently removed by Google. Somsen stressed that, to his knowledge, no inappropriate content had been shared through the platform. He further highlighted a critical issue: important information had been redirected to the spam folder, which he found ironic. This incident has sparked concerns about whether essential open-source contributions are being deemed unwanted by major tech companies like Google.

Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Block, showed his support for Somsen by retweeting his message and posing direct questions to Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai. This event has raised concerns about censorship within the crypto community, especially as the community strives to foster innovation and transparency. Stakeholders are now considering the potential implications of such actions on open-source development and collaboration.