Google blocks YouTube access from Amazon media devices

Dec. 6 (UPI) — Google has decided to block YouTube on multiple Amazon media devices, part of an escalating feud between the two tech companies.

Google announced Tuesday it stopped access to Amazon’s Echo Show, and will start blocking YouTube on Fire TV media-streaming devices Jan. 1.

The dispute stems from YouTube’s recent rollout of the Amazon products, which Google said lacked several features users came to expect.

“Given this lack of reciprocity, we are no longer supporting YouTube on Echo Show and Fire TV,” a Google spokeswoman said Tuesday.

The dispute initially led to Google’s removal of YouTube from the Echo Show, but the app returned several weeks later.

Google has complained that Amazon’s retail website does not sell competing products, including the Google Home smart speaker or its Chromecast streaming device.

The search giant added that Amazon has stopped selling some products from Nest, a device maker that, like Google, is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.

Amazon launched a home-security system to compete with Nest, in October.

Although Google began as an online search company and Amazon as an online retailer, each company now has a powerful position in Internet hardware and content industries, with many overlapping products and services.

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