European Union Joins FTC in Apple Probe for Flash Ban
8/10/2010 05:35:00 PM - 0 comments
The European Commission has joined the US’ Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in its probe into Apple’s decision to ban its developers from using competitor tools in developing software for its iDevices.The New York Post reported that the European Commission has also become interested in the exclusion of Adobe’s Flash from Apple iOS devices. Apple also banned Adobe’s Flash-to-iPhone compiler and similar tools that are designed to allow non-native applications to run on the iOS platform.
This recent development and collaboration on the investigation, which will reportedly take months, further escalates the issue as to whether Apple's business practices harm competition.
It would be recalled that the New York Post reported the investigation started by FTC last June on the ban against Adobe Flash.
The FTC is an independent agency that promotes "consumer protection and the elimination and prevention of what regulators perceive to be harmfully ‘anti-competitive’ business practices. The European Commission, on the other hand, is “the body responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the European Union's treaties, and execution of its policies.”
Meanwhile, Comex, the developer responsible for Spirit and JailbreakMe, has recently introduced “Frash”, an app that aims to bring Flash to the iOS platform. It’s still under testing but may now be downloaded through Cydia.
In related developments, reports indicate that the Apple's App Store developer agreement has been revised. The change offers a new discount program to allow developers to offer their applications at a 50% discount to educational institutions wishing to buy multiple copies of an app.
Developers logging into their iTunes Connect accounts received news of the revised terms. A radio button selection has also been provided to allow all of their existing apps to be offered under the new program. Developers can also choose which apps to offer for the discounted bulk purchase price promotion.
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