Free multimedia player 'VLC' official website turned out to be blocked in India

VideoLAN , the developer of `` VLC '' that can play videos and music for free, claims that `` VLC is blocked in India ''.

VLC Media Player banned in India, website and VLC download link blocked - Technology News
https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/vlc-media-player-banned-in-india-website-and-vlc-download-link-blocked-1987361-2022-08-12

VLC says India internet providers blocking site poses threat to users | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2022/08/17/vlc-india/

VideoLAN claims that its VLC media player is being blocked in India - CDJapan
https://www.neowin.net/news/videolan-claims-that-its-vlc-media-player-is-being-blocked-in-india/

Did India quietly ban VLC media player over Chinese hacking? — Quartz India
https://qz.com/did-india-quietly-ban-vlc-media-player-1849421897

According to VideoLAN, Indian internet service providers (ISPs) have blocked access to VLC's official website since at least February 13, 2022. About this, not only Jean-Baptsite Kempf, the president and lead developer of VideoLAN, told the foreign media TechCrunch, but also the official Twitter account of VideoLAN tweeted.

Since the 13th of February, according to our stats.

— VideoLAN (@videolan) August 12, 2022

According to Kempf, India accounts for about 10% of the global user base, making it 'one of the largest markets for VideoLAN.' However, since the Indian ISP blocked access to VLC's official website, it seems that traffic on the site has decreased by about 20% compared to before the block. Kempf did not provide details, but noted that ``Indian ISPs continue to block access to official websites in various ways.''

Several Indian media have reported that access to VLC's official website has been blocked. While citing this report, VideoLAN tweeted, ``If you live in India, please help,'' and is trying to spread the word about access blocking by IPS.

If you are in India, please help us. https://t.co/rOpIjlx0q9

— VideoLAN (@videolan) August 12, 2022

No official statement has been announced by VideoLAN and the Indian government as to why Indian ISPs are blocking access to the VLC official website. However, technology media Neowin said, ``It may be the result of Indian ISPs misunderstanding the security guidance given in early 2022.''

Also, in April 2022, it was revealed that the China-backed hacking group `` Cicada '' was conducting cyber attacks using VLC and other popular applications, so this is a warning by Indian ISPs. Neowin points out that it has led to further strengthening of In addition, Mr. Kempf emphasized that ``this access blockage may be due to some misunderstanding,'' because there was no contact from the Indian government agency about the access blockage.

However, Indian ISPs only block access to official websites, so it doesn't affect existing users to use VLC. Also, it is not possible to download from the official website, but there are no restrictions on downloading VLC from third-party websites.

Kempf said, ``You must understand that downloading VLC from a third-party website risks directing users to dubious websites that bundle malware with open source software. No,' warns.