VLC Media Player banned? Check what government did

In February 2022, the Central government banned VLC Media Player in India. However, the ban was a strange one. Instead of the mobile app or the software, only the website was banned and users could not visit the website to download the application. However, it was still available to download in the Google Play Store and the App Store. In fact, there was no official word from the government on the ban either. It wasn’t till six months later in August 2022, that the ban came in the public eye. Now, nine months later, the initial ban on the VLC website has been lifted.

The VLC Media Player website ban has now been lifted as per various reports. We have also verified the same and found that the website works normally. It was suggested that the reason behind the ban was security concerns, however, nothing was mentioned in official capacity by the government.

VLC Media Player ban lifted

VideoLan, the parent company of VLC and a not-for-profit organization, revealed earlier that they noticed the ban on their website in February 2022. It also said that the company was not given any reason for the ban. Seeking an answer, the company sent a legal notice to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on September 30.

The notice mentioned that VideoLan began the legal proceeding to protect its rights given under the Constitution of India. The official Twitter page of VLC also posted multiple tweets asking the help of the Indian citizens. The president of VideoLan, Jean-Baptiste Kempf even asked for the opportunity of a virtual hearing to present his case and defend the company from the ban.

The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), a Twitter page which advocates for democratic freedom in digital space, was one of the first that came forward to help VLC get reinstated. After the ban was lifted, it tweeted, “@GoI_MeitY has decided to remove its ban on the website of VLC media player. IFF provided legal support to @videolan throughout this process”.