VLC media player banned in India: Everything you need to know about:
If you have been trying to open a VLC media player, but there’s trouble doing that because the Indian government has banned the same. Until now, many people did not know about the same. The VLC media player app can still work but on every few ISPs through Google play and Apple play store app.
Key Highlights
- VLC media player website got waived from prominent ISPs. But still, there’s the possibility to access the same through a VPN.
- The VLC media player only got the ban on Windows machines, although the app is still accessible on Apple and Google Play stores.
VLC media player app ban but not fully enforced
VLC media player’s initial release was in Feb 2001. This open-source, free cross-platform has existed for 21 years. Few months back the Indian government banned a number of Chinese app. But, there’s an exception that the app is available on the Apple App store and Google Play store.
The central government took a step back on 13th Feb 2022 and ensured that access to VLC media players gets banned “www.videolan.org.” If you access the website a message is displayed: “The website has been blocked as per order of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology under IT Act, 2000.”
Although keep that aside through the app store, there’s still easy access. All the rules are not enforced on the VLC media player app. Because of being a popular open-source media player.
VLC media player banned in India: What’s the reason?
Although, the Indian government has not stated the reasons for the ban on VLC media player apps. But, there’s one report suggesting that the government took the step because:
‘Cybersecurity experts claim that one of the hacker groups from China called Cicada tries to use the VLC media player app to carry out some unwanted practices in the cyberattack campaign. The cyberattack targeted the 3 continents and their main aim was to target religious, legal, and political activities along with a number of NGOs (Non-Government Organizations). So, to ensure nothing unwanted or problematic happens it’s likely to take these steps. And now suddenly everything is coming to light as what the Indian government has done.’
Closing word
The reason for the ban is not clear, One thing is clear: You cannot access the app on PC without any updates. Keeping that aside, using VPN services, you can still use major ISPs like Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone-Idea on mobile devices or laptops. There’s a possibility that with time better options are available in terms of website and app development by the Indian government. It will be interesting to see what happens next.