Rare public spat in
the technology industry escalated when Google said it would block its video
streaming application YouTube from two Amazon.com Inc devices.
Google also criticized the online retailer for
not selling Google hardware, Media reports on Wednesday.
The feud is the latest in Silicon
Valley to put customers in the crossfire of major competitors.
Amazon and Google,
which is owned by Alphabet Inc, square off in many areas, from cloud computing
and online search, to selling voice-controlled gadgets like the Google Home and
Amazon Echo Show.
The stakes are high: many in the technology
industry expect that interacting with computers by voice will become
widespread, and it is unclear if Amazon, Google or another company will
dominate the space.
Amazon’s suite of voice-controlled devices has
outsold Google’s so far, according to a study by research firm eMarketer from
earlier this year.
In a statement, Google said, ”Amazon doesn’t
carry Google products like Chromecast and Google Home, doesn’t make (its) Prime
Video available for Google Cast users, and last month stopped selling some of
(our sister company) Nest’s latest products.
“Given this lack of reciprocity, we are no
longer supporting YouTube on Echo Show and Fire TV. We hope we can reach an
agreement to resolve these issues soon,” Google said.
Amazon said in a statement, “Google is setting
a disappointing precedent by selectively blocking customer access to an open
website.”
It said it hoped to resolve the issue with
Google as soon as possible but customers could access YouTube through the
internet – not an app – on the devices in the meantime.
The break has been a long time coming.
Amazon kicked the Chromecast, Google’s
television player, off its retail website in 2015, along with Apple Inc’s TV
player.
Amazon had explained the move by saying it
wanted to avoid confusing customers who might expect its Prime Video service to
be available on devices sold by Amazon.
Amazon and Apple mended ties earlier this year
when it was announced Prime Video would come to Apple TV; not so with Google.
In September, Google cut off YouTube from the
Amazon Echo Show, which had displayed videos on its touchscreen without video
recommendations, channel subscriptions and other features.
Amazon later reintroduced YouTube to the
device.
However, the voice commands it added violated
the use terms and on Tuesday Google again removed the service.
The Fire TV loses access to its YouTube app on
Jan. 1, Google said.
Amazon has sold that device for longer than
the Echo Show, meaning more customers may now be affected.
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