There's technically no difference between downloading and streaming, and in fact nearly all of the videos I "download" from YouTube don't get retained after I watch them --- I'm just doing so in order to be able to use alternative software that respects my freedom.
Since we're talking about video, I think a better analogy would be using a VCR to record broadcasting, and there was certainly a legal battle over that too.
A VCR is not circumventing anything. It’s more like the DeCSS code required to watch a DVD in VLC.
The solution is to host the software in a country that doesn’t have laws against distributing circumvention code, this is how VLC does it. If you host on GitHub then you’re at the mercy of US law.
Since we're talking about video, I think a better analogy would be using a VCR to record broadcasting, and there was certainly a legal battle over that too.