The New York Post is reporting that the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission are, “locked in negotiations over which of the watchdogs will begin an antitrust inquiry into Apple’s new policy of requiring software developers who devise applications for devices such as the iPhone and iPad to use only Apple’s programming tools.” The Post, claiming to have “sources familiar with the matter,” goes on to say that the two government agencies, “are days away from making a decision about which agency will launch the inquiry.” The Post speculates that the inquiry is a byproduct of Apple’s hard-line on Flash, however, 9 to 5 Mac speculates (probably more accurately) that the inquiry is driven by Apple’s recent ban on third-party “rapid app development tools” and restrictions on “unauthorized programming code” as mandated by the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement. Whatever the reasoning, it looks like Apple’s General Counsel will continue to earn their keep. What do you think? Should Apple have the right to exert totalitarian control over their development ecosystem… or, should they play nice and let others join in the fun?
Read – New York Post
Read – 9 to 5 Mac
