Google sent a cease and desist letter to Microsoft back in May, demanding that the company take down its YouTube app as it did not comply with Google’s terms of service. Microsoft then worked with Google on an update, which was released only a few days ago. Today Google blocked the app once again, citing that it still violated terms of use. Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Litigation and Antitrust, David Howard, writes in a blog post that Google has “manufactured” reasons for blocking its app so that Windows Phone users don’t get the same YouTube experience that they can get on iOS and Android, for which Google itself writes the apps.
Howard writes that when both companies were working together on the update, Google asked Microsoft to transition its app to HTML5, however Google’s own YouTube apps for iOS and Android aren’t built on HTML5. The plan was ultimately shelved, but Howard says that Microsoft has made a long-term commitment to Google to work on a HTML5 YouTube app. He further says that the roadblocks that Google is manufacturing are impossible to overcome and that Google is aware of this fact. In the end, Howard reiterates that Microsoft would be happy to collaborate with Google over any legitimate concerns that they may have and requests that Google stop blocking its YouTube app.
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