Facebook
has responded to Google’s decision to block the export of contact information
from Gmail by offering users a work-around solution.
It
has added a link, allowing users to first move their Gmail contacts to a PC and
then upload them to Facebook.
Google
stopped this process happening automatically, because it said Facebook did not
share its data reciprocally.
Google
said it was “disappointed” with the site’s actions, while Facebook
declined to comment.
“We’re
disappointed that Facebook didn’t invest their time in making it possible for
their users to get their contacts out of Facebook,” a Google Spokesperson
said.
“As
passionate believers that people should be able to control the data they
create, we will continue to allow our users to export their Google
contacts.”
The
row has put the rivalry between the two firms in the spotlight.
Increasingly
firms are making it easier for users to move their data around the web and from
device to device.
Data-rich
Facebook, with 500 million users, is one of the most sought-after sources of
information.
But
it has been selective about who it will share data with.
While
it has struck a deal with Microsoft to allow user data to power its Bing search
engine, it has made no such arrangement with rival Google.
Mike
Davis, a senior analyst with research firm Ovum, thinks the latest stand-off
says a lot about the developing rivalry between the two firms.
“Facebook
is a significant challenge to Google’s dominance of the web sphere and it has
decided that it doesn’t want to give Facebook any more advantage.
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