VideoLAN, the developer and operator of VLC Media Player, has filed a legal notice to India’s department of telecommunications and ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) demanding a copy of the blocking order issued for banning the website and an opportunity to defend its case through a virtual hearing.
In the notice, VideoLan argues that the Indian ministries have not followed the process they had set for blocking websites. Rule 8 of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information by Public) Rules clearly states that the officials must notify the person or organisation regarding the ban, give them a chance to attend a hearing in front of concerned authorities and provide them with a copy of a reasoned blocking order before they attend the hearing.
Jean-Baptiste Kempf, the president and lead developer of VLC, in the notice, said, "Almost six months have passed since the first reporting of the unavailability of videolan.org and the reasons for blocking the URL have not been communicated to us. We have neither received any notice of hearing nor a copy of the reasoned blocking order."
The notice drafted and dispatched by digital rights group Internet Freedom Foundation also cites Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which says that freedom of speech and expression is a paramount human right.
In the legal notice, VideoLAN has clearly stated that failure to comply with its request will force them to initiate legal proceedings. “Any such proceedings, if initiated, shall be solely at your risk, cost, and for breach of your own rules,” Kempf adds.
In March, the Indian government reportedly banned VLC Media Player without any explanation but there were speculations that it could be because of a misinterpretation of a security warning from earlier this year.
Security firm Symantec had earlier this year reported that the hacker Cicada, which reportedly has ties with the Chinese government was exploiting VLC Media Player and other popular applications to gain remote access to the victim’s computers. It is possible that the block was due to this misunderstanding of this issue.
According to TechCrunch, India is one of the largest markets for VLC and once the government started to block the website the site saw a drop of 80% in traffic from the South Asian market.
