Apple and Google Investigated for Antitrust

May 4th, 2009

The Federal Trade Commission is investigating Apple and Google for collusion, because they share two board members (Eric Schmidt and Arthur Levinson).

Sharing board members becomes a problem under antitrust law when the two companies are competitors and they are coordinating their strategies. Apple and Google are primarily competing in mobile phones. As I understand it, though, Schmidt recuses himself when Apple’s Board of Directors discusses the iPhone.

We’ll see if this goes anywhere, but I doubt anything will come of it.