Report: FTC, DOJ considering probe of Apple's app rules

Federal regulators may be readying an anti-trust challenge to Apple's requirement that all iPhone and iPad app authors use only the company's developing tools.

While Apple stipulates that rule as part of its developer agreement, which all app creators must follow, sources told The New York Post on Monday that officials at the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission have honed in on the restriction out of concern that it is anti-competitive.

Both agencies could ultimately decide to take no action and preserve Apple's agreement. But the sources nonetheless told the Post that a review is still pending, with decision on the matter likely in days.

The FTC declined to confirm the reported inquiry to Hillicon Valley on Monday. The DOJ was not immediately available for comment.

Speculation that federal regulators might review Apple's app rules arrives amid increased scrutiny of the company's decision to bar Adobe Flash from its devices.

The rule originates in Section 3.3.1 of Apple's license agreement, which reads in full:

3.3.1 — Applications may only use Documented APIs in the manner prescribed by Apple and must not use or call any private APIs. Applications must be originally written in Objective-C, C, C++, or JavaScript as executed by the iPhone OS WebKit engine, and only code written in C, C++, and Objective-C may compile and directly link against the Documented APIs (e.g., Applications that link to Documented APIs through an intermediary translation or compatibility layer or tool are prohibited). 

Tech leaders have since translated that legalese to mean the company has codified its dissatisfaction with Flash into its licensing agreement. As intense debate over the rule reached its peak online, CEO Steve Jobs took to Apple's website to outline six reasons for Apple's ban -- from security holes in the technology to the availability of new Flash features.

"We know from painful experience that letting a third party layer of software come between the platform and the developer ultimately results in sub-standard apps and hinders the enhancement and progress of the platform," Jobs wrote.

"If developers grow dependent on third party development libraries and tools, they can only take advantage of platform enhancements if and when the third party chooses to adopt the new features," he continued. "We cannot be at the mercy of a third party deciding if and when they will make our enhancements available to our developers."