Google denies that it modified the YouTube code to sabotage Microsoft Edge, which slowed its performance when users watched YouTube videos, as claimed by a former Microsoft intern.
A former Microsoft intern revealed details of an incident on YouTube that convinced some Edge browser engineers that Google had added a code line to remove YouTube compatibility with Edge voluntarily.
The claims are surprising, and they come months after a Mozilla program manager called for a separate overhaul of YouTube that made the site “5 times slower in Firefox and Edge.” This incident led Edge, Safari and Firefox users to return to scripts to improve the YouTube experience. Google was also at the center of claims that it intentionally blocked access to Google Maps for Windows Phone users years ago.
“Although I’m not sure, I’m convinced that YouTube was intentionally modified to slow Edge down, many of my colleagues are absolutely convinced. To add to all this, when we asked, YouTube rejected our request to remove the hidden void div and did not specify further,” said Joshua Bakita, a former software engineering intern at Microsoft.
Google Denies That It Modified YouTube Code To Sabotage Microsoft Edge
Google contests Bakita’s claims and claims that YouTube’s empty div was simply a bug that was fixed after it was reported.
“YouTube does not add code designed to neutralize other browsers’ optimizations and acts quickly to fix detected bugs,” said a YouTube spokesperson in a statement to The Verge site. “We regularly collaborate with other browser vendors through standards bodies, the Web Platform Tests project, the open-source Chromium project, etc., to improve browser interoperability,” the same person added.
On the other hand, Microsoft does not comment on the specific statements made by the former intern. Even more, regarding this situation, Microsoft said to The Verge that “Google has been a useful partner and we look forward to further work on the future of Microsoft Edge.”
As a passionate gamer since the 1990s, Vadim has kept his passion alive since then, and he is here to cover video games news, as well as to share with you all the novelties out there regarding gadgets or games-related tech.
