The drumbeat of diplomatic tension between Facebook and Google, two internet heavyweights, is growing louder by the day.
In a rare public statement admonishing one of its rivals – or, soon-to-be rivals – Google last week banished Facebook from using its data feed for Gmail contacts, saying the social network isn't pulling its weight in a "world of true data liberation".
Singling out Facebook as a chief offender, Google said that services that do not allow users to export their contact data to other applications in a way that is "substantially as fast and easy as exporting such data from Google Contacts" will no longer be able to use its Contacts API.
Facebook, the search giant said, leaves users in a "data dead end", and their carefully-constructed network of contacts "effectively trapped". As a result of the wrangle, new Facebook registrants were suddenly unable to import or invite contacts from Google services in an automated way.
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