Washington
– The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is preparing to examine allegations that
Apple (NASD: AAPL) is engaging in anti-competitive behavior in the mobile advertising
sector, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Apple
recently announced plans to launch a proprietary ad format, the iAd, for its
iPhone and iPad devices.
Apple first released a set of terms that
appeared to ban all third-party ad-serving networks. Soon after, the company altered
the terms to reflect that independent third-party ad networks could be used by
developers on the iPhone.
However, Apple said ad networks owned by a company
that also sells mobile phones or mobile phone software — such as Google (NASD: GOOG),
Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) and Nokia (NYSE: NOK) — are banned from the iPhone.
The FTC recently approved
Google’s $750 million acquisition of mobile ad firm AdMob, noting in its
findings that Apple was preparing to provide Google with competition in the
nascent market.
Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/xey8b
(Bloomberg)
http://snipurl.com/xey9z
(DMW previous coverage)
http://snipurl.com/xeyau
(DMW previous coverage)
so apple`s gonna get spanked,nice!