Do you know that India has currently banned VLC, a media player that is used by millions of people here? VLC Media Player was apparently prohibited by the Indian government in March without any justification and without allowing VideoLAN, the company that created VLC, a chance to challenge the decision. The official website of VideoLAN is blocked in India, despite there being locations on the internet from where Indian people can get VLC because it is an open-source programme and is widely available. The VLC creator has since sent the Indian government a stern letter threatening legal action.
In a letter to the Department of Telecom (DoT) and MEiTY, VLC creator VideoLAN argues that the restriction is unreasonable because it provides no justification and because the VLC creator was not even notified of it. The business asserts that before its app was outlawed, it didn’t receive any official notification from the government on the removal of its service. Additionally, it was not given the opportunity to present its case prior to the ban, which was against both the Supreme Court-established legislation and India’s 2009 regulations governing the blocking of websites and apps.
Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) of India, a group that monitors policy issues relating to internet use in India, was the first to draw attention to the news that VideoLAN had sent a legal notice to the Indian government.
The VLC Media Player was prohibited by the Indian government back in March of this year, according to an RTI request made by IFF a few months ago. However, since India Today Tech reported on the prohibition, it has recently been discussed once more on social media. Indian internet users currently see the following error while attempting to access the VideoLAN website:
“Your requested URL has been blocked as per the directions received from the Department of Telecommunications Government of India.”