VLC unblocked eight months after ban by central govt, reasons for ban still unclear

The website of VideoLAN, developer of VLC media player, was banned in March, blocking access for new users. There was no due process followed, says the company.

Representative image of VLC media player | Commons

New Delhi: The Government of India has lifted a ban on the website of non-profit software developer VideoLAN that created the popular VLC media player, said policy advocacy group Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) Monday. They have been providing legal support to the company.

The website was banned in March 2022 by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

According to reports, an internal communication memo within ministries had claimed that the website was allegedly communicating with servers that were transferring sensitive personal data to a “hostile country”.

The blocking request had allegedly been received from the Ministry of Home Affairs. There has been no official communication from any of the ministries involved about the imposition or lifting of the ban.

Only the website was banned, which prevented users from downloading it on their computers, but the app was still available on Apple’s App Store, Google Play, and the Microsoft store. It also continued to work fine for those who already had it downloaded.

The company claimed on Twitter that blocking their website would only lead users to using “weirder websites” that peddle “shadier” versions of the software.

Due process not followed

Last month, VideoLAN sent a legal notice to both MeitY and DoT stating that “it was particularly shocking” since “the Government of India itself endorses the use of VLC as part of its digital India initiative, where it has expressed its intention to use open-source software for Government applications”.

The notice also claimed that, according to the ruling of the Supreme Court in ‘Shreya Singhal V Union of India’ — “Government officers responsible for issuing a blocking order are required to make all reasonable efforts to identify the originator or intermediary hosting the information to be blocked, issue a notice to such a person, provide a hearing on such a person before the concerned authority and provide a reasoned copy of the blocking order to the person concerned prior to the hearing”.

The notice claimed that none of these mandated actions was followed up by the central government and there was no prior notice or opportunity for a hearing. VideoLAN also brought attention to the matter via their Twitter.

The media player was banned under Section 69(A) of the Information Technology Act.

This Act and section provides ammunition to the government to “block for access by the public” if any content breached the “interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States or public”.

What were the allegations?

According to reports citing a note sent by the Ministry of Home Affairs to the DoT and MeitY, VideoLAN’s website was allegedly communicating with suspicious servers and that the sensitive personal data of Indians reached a “hostile country” through the app.

One of the suspicious apps in question was Onmyoji Arena, a gaming app, which was among the 54 apps banned in India due to their Chinese links. Reports also claimed that a China-based hacking group called Cicada was planning cyber attacks using VLC.

However, the platform attempted to debunk this narrative and explained that the player doesn’t need servers to function.

(Edited by Theres Sudeep)