The European Commission (EC) has refused to comment on reports it is investigating Apple over anti-competitive behavior.
A spokeswoman for the EC’s competition division told telecomseurope.net that it cannot confirm an ongoing investigation unless a date has been set for its completion, meaning she could not comment on reports the Commission has teamed with the FTC to probe the conditions Apple imposes on apps developers.
However, it could take months for a deadline to be set, with the New York Post reporting that the EC’s involvement with the FTC investigation could push the US competition regulator’s decision back by up to six months.
The FTC began probing Apple’s new advertising restrictions and its decision to block Flash from its iPhone and iPad devices in June.
Changes to Apple’s licensing agreement in April banned developers from using third-party compilers to create applications for the iPhone operating system
Apple updated the licensing agreement for a second time in July to limit the data third parties could access from its apps, in a move widely perceived to be a shot across Google’s bows because it would prevent it running its AdMob service on Apple devices, CNET.com reports.