Report: Apple Faces Federal Inquiry Due to Developer Policy

Federal regulators apparently have taken note of the ongoing spat between Apple and Adobe, and the iPhone maker’s decision to prohibit developers from submitting apps originally created for Flash. The U.S. Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission are “days away” from deciding which agency will launch an antitrust probe into Apple’s developer agreement banning Flash from apps, according to the New York Post.

The probe “will focus on whether the policy, which took effect last month, kill competition by forcing programmers to choose between developing apps that can only run on Apple gizmos or come up with apps that are platform neutral, and can be on a variety of operating systems, such as those from rivals Google, Mikcrosoft and Research in Motion,” the report said, citing persons in the know.

The agreement includes a clause forbidding iPhone OS developers using “an intermediary translation or compatibility layer too,” essentially banning software originally written for Flash. Adobe’s just-released Creative Suite 5 allows developers to create versions of Flash apps for the iPhone.

Last week, in an essay entitled “Thoughts on Flash,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs blasted Adobe and its premiere software. The two companies had “grown apart” as Apple moved beyond the age of PCs into the mobile era. Besides, as more and more websites adopt the HTML5 standard “Flash is no longer necessary.” Perhaps most damning was Jobs’ statement that Flash was responsible for most Mac crashes.

Possibly in response to the Apple criticism, Adobe has gotten cozier with Google, maker of the iPhone rival handset platform Android. Adobe intends to give Android-based phones to company workers, according to one report. Those Android handsets will include Flash Player 10.1, a version of Adobe’s software designed for mobile devices.

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[via AppleInsider]

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charli
the SDK has never given permission for layered apps (just now it clarifies they are not allowed). Flash has never been allowed on the iphone OS. So why now and not 3 years ago.
As for this ‘antitrust’, this will be a repeat of Psystar with the courts etc saying that the market is mobile devices or even smart phones, not iphone devices (just like there is no Macintosh Computer Market). Apple has perhaps a 2-3% lead at the moment. hardly a strong market dominance to abuse. Plus just like with a computer the hardware and the software are not separate realms.
I welcome this because it will put it on the legal books that, for the time being, Apple can legally allow or restrict what they wish. for the OS, for apps etc.
Karl-Franz
Unless they are also planning on investigating Sony Playstation, XBox 360, and Nintendo Wii SDKs, i don’t see how they can claim that Apple is being any more anti-competitive than any other closed platform.
Mezzrow
I’m not a developer, but I have a hard time understanding how this could end up being more than an inquiry rather than an actual antitrust case. And if I understand correctly, this was reported in the NY Post, not a bastion of unbiased and accurate reportage.
Lance
An inquiry is simply a bunch of Government trolls getting together, wasting $6M to set up a “commission” to see if Apple might have done anything unlawful. Half of the time, it does not progress beyond that.
Remember that some months ago, another government “inquiry” was investigating if Google CEO Eric Schmidt was being an illegal criminal exploitative assbite for also sitting on the Apple Board, corporate conflict of interest and all. That “inquiry” was quickly ended as soon as Schmidt decided to give up his seat on the Apple Board. No lawsuits or fines resulted. The only result was that Schmidt was publicly shamed in order to coax him to resign from the Apple Board of Directors.
porkchop1234
I’m with Karl Franz unless this commission is willing to also look at Playstation, Wii, and Xbox 360 this probe won’t go anywhere. Although I’m probably one of the few bloggers on here who does wish all manufacturers were cross platform I’m smart enough to realize it probably will never happen in my life time. Although Apple does have clout in the tech world they’re not big enough to manipulate the market like say MS can and has tried to do in the past.
Apple does not want flash on their mobile platforms plain and simple. Whether Adobe likes it or not they have to change with the times or risk becoming redundant. I have run enough PC’s and no matter what OS or how powerful my hardware configuration setup is whenever I choose to surf a flash saturated site my computer fans speed up due to the fact my processor has to work harder which causes the rest of my hardware to heat up all the while my OS starts to slow down if not full out crash. This problem is inherent not only for PC users but also as Jobs has made abundantly clear Mac users as well. In the past some people have indicated that its the basic architecture of the OS that has to be addressed. My opinion is you have two widely used Os’s and the same inherent problems occur therefore in my mind the OS architecture of Windows and OSX is not the problem or at the very least the not full problem. The technology behind flash needs to change and whether Adobe likes it or not they need to go back to basic coding and start from scratch if they expect flash to survive into the future mobile oriented world.
P.S
Android may support flash but anyone who says that an android powered device while running flash doesn’t have its battery life sapped or their surfing experience slowed down is a liar.
Just my 2 cents or two dollars whichever the reader chooses