A Google executive on September 2019 had sent the email. As Android Central (via CNBC) reports, the email’s title insists that “YouTube Position: A dedicated shelf for YT search results is a must.” Google has avoided responding to the allegations, but it appears that Congress intends to look into the matter. Senator Amy Klobuchar has released a statement saying Congress seeks legislation to ban big companies from asking for special treatment. “Roku’s claim that Google requires the company to preference YouTube content over that of other providers in Roku’s search results highlights why we need new laws to prevent dominant digital platforms from abusing their power as gatekeepers,” Klobuchar noted. “For too long, the big tech platforms have leveraged their power to preference their products and services over those of thousands of smaller online businesses. They have said ‘just trust us,’ but experience has shown that we can’t rely on these companies to act fairly in the marketplace.”
Google takes YouTube out of the Roku platform
Just a few days ago, Google announced that it intends to remove YouTube from the Roku platform. In a blog post, Roku said that Google is constantly asking them to manipulate search results. Moreover, Google is also asking for access to users’ data. Roku called Google’s requests “unfair and anti-competitive.” Following the disagreement, a YouTube spokesman also announced that they would pull out YouTube app from the Roku platform. Of course, old users will still have access to the app even after the deadline, but new users can’t. “Since we haven’t been able to continue our conversations in good faith, our partnership for all-new Roku devices will unfortunately end on December 9,” YouTube spokesman said. “We are, however, giving Roku the ability to continue distributing both YouTube and YouTube TV apps to all existing users to make sure they are not impacted.” This is not the first time Google has pushed smaller companies to give its apps a preference over rivals. The scope of such actions by Google is not limited to the United States, and German and French watchdogs have filed similar cases against the company. However, the US Congress will definitely address this issue closely in the coming months, and may even invite Google executives to a hearing.
