VLC Media Player’s India ban, but what is the reason? Here’s what an RTI showed
VLC Media Player is one of the most popular apps when it comes to video streaming. Anyone who has used a PC in the 90s or early 2000s knows just how popular, the VLC media player was when it came to watching movies, and TV shows. However, it looks like the VLC Media player website is banned in India and the ban appears to have been in place since March this year, according to an earlier report Medianama.
But what is the reason the website was banned? Well, an RTI (Right to Information) request filed the Internet Freedom Foundation shows that no one knows what is the reason for the ban. The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) tweeted that they filed the RTI in June with the department of telecom about the website being banned. DOT transferred the request to Meity or the Minry of Electronics and Information and Technology. Meity’s response on July 14 was that “No information is available [with MeitY]”.
Check out IFF’s thread below
On June 07, 2022, we filed a Right to Information application with @DoT_India seeking information on the blocking of the website of VideoLAN[dot]org in India. DoT transferred it to @GoI_MeitY, which then responded on July 14 that “No information is available [with MeitY]” (1/4) https://t.co/usQHOmaJdW
— Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) (@internetfreedom) August 14, 2022
In our application, we sought information on the grounds on which videolan[dot]org has been blocked for access in India and whether any hearing opportunity was provided to the website owners before the website was blocked for access in India. (2/4)https://t.co/W0tLeiCrMO
— Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) (@internetfreedom) August 14, 2022
However, in their single-line response, @GoI_MeitY has simply stated that they do not have any such information. We have filed the first appeal on this response, arguing that it is illegal and demonstrates non-application of mind. (3/4)https://t.co/nz3KCtABBc
— Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) (@internetfreedom) August 14, 2022
According to IFF’s tweets, they “sought information on the grounds on which videolan[dot]org has been blocked for access in India and whether any hearing opportunity was provided to the website owners before the website was blocked for access in India.” However, all they got was a single-line response that Meity has no such information.
IFF added in their tweet that they “have filed the first appeal on this response, arguing that it is illegal and demonstrates non-application of mind.”
Indianexpress has reached out to IFF for further statements around the VLC media player ban. All we know right now is that the website cannot be accessed. You can still download the app from the App Store or Google Play Store. And if you have the player installed on your laptop, it should work fine.
VLC Media player’s official Twitter account has also tweeted about the ban, asking for help and appears to be just as clueless about the reason for this ban. Hopefully, there will be some clarity on why the website is not accessible in India.
