VLC Media Player Banned In India: Here’s Why

VLC Media Player is one of the most popular platforms for users across the world. However, the Indian government has banned VLC Media Player without anyone noticing it. Technically, VideoLAN - the developer behind VLC Media Player says the platform has been banned earlier this year on February 14.

VLC Media Player Banned In India

Despite being banned earlier this year, VLC Media Player was functioning normally for those who had previously downloaded it. New users who wished to get VLC Media Player were unable to do so as the download link was removed and made inaccessible. However, VideoLAN hasn't received exact details as to why VLC Media Player was blocked.

So far, many apps like TikTok, PUBG, Free Fire, WeChat, and BGMI have been banned in India. The government stated national security and privacy as the main reasons for the ban. On the other hand, VLC Media Player hasn't received any particular reason for being banned in the country.

The VLC Media Player website reads that it has been blocked "as per the order of the Ministry of Electronics and Information technology under IT Act, 2000". What's more VideoLAN President stated that the media player was working on some ISPs and unavailable for a few others.

VLC Media Player is banned for Windows platform in India while still available for Android platform on Google Play Store.
VLC media player is banned because Chinese hacking group Cicada used VLC for cyber attacks.#VLC #Windows #Android

— Abhishek Yadav (@yabhishekhd) August 13, 2022

"We've asked the Indian government and we got no answer. We probably did not ask the right place though. I wish I knew how to ask properly. VLC and VideoLAN are quite apolitical (we only fight against DRM and for open source) and VLC is a pure tool that can read anything," the President stated explaining the situation.

Additionally, VLC Media Player's developer also stated that the company doesn't collect user information at any given point. VLC Media Player works perfectly without collecting user information; it also doesn't require user accounts. Once the media player is downloaded on a user's PC, VLC Media Player doesn't need the servers to work.

This doesn't place VLC Media Player as a threat to national security or privacy, as claimed by the Indian government while banning other apps. In this case, the government is yet to confirm why the VLC Media Player was banned. VLC Media Player is also looking for help on Twitter to resolve the issue.