Posted by: Published on – Tue, 15 Nov 22 at 02:24pm
Hyderabad: The central government lifted the ban on the VLC media player website on Monday. The Indian Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), which first broke the news on Twitter, said it had helped the company provide legal support on the issue.
“VICTORY @GoI_MeitY has decided to lift the ban on the VLC media player website. IFF provided @videolan with legal support throughout the process,” IFF tweeted. It further said that those still unable to access the website should write to it and provide their ISP details.
Victory 🎉@GoI_MeitY A decision has been taken to lift the ban on the VLC media player website. IFF provides legal support @videolan in the whole process. (1/3)#WhatTheBlock pic.twitter.com/pW7APDAbIX
— Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) (@internetfreedom) November 14, 2022
The site was blocked earlier this year. Although there was no official statement announcing the ban, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) reportedly blocked the site because it was used by the China-backed hacking group Cicada to carry out cyberattacks in India.
It is worth noting that only the website was blocked during this period, and the mobile application continued to function normally.
However, the company reportedly even sent a legal notice to MeitY to understand the reasons behind the blockade and should be given a chance to defend its case through a virtual hearing.
With over 3.5 billion downloads worldwide, VLC is a media player that doesn’t require internet access or connection to any specific service to function.