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Report: US investigates Apple, Google board ties

Tom Krazit CNET News

Published: 05 May 2009 09:40 BST

The US Federal Trade Commission has decided to investigate the relationship between Google and Apple, according to a report.

According to a New York Times report on Monday, Google and Apple have been informed that the FTC would like to investigate whether the fact the companies have two members of their boards of directors in common amounts to a violation of antitrust law. The board members in question are Google chief executive Eric Schmidt and former Genentech chief executive Art Levinson. The New York Times attributed the news to anonymous sources. All three parties — the FTC, Apple and Google — declined to comment on the matter for the report.

Schmidt's involvement on Apple's board has long raised eyebrows, especially after Google revealed plans to release its own mobile operating system in Android. Schmidt has said he recuses himself from Apple board meetings where the iPhone is discussed, but under Section 8 of the Clayton Antitrust Act, companies are not supposed to have the same board members if "it would reduce competition between them", the Times reported.

Given that Android is such a small part of Google's business at this point in its history, the relationship between the two companies may not amount to a clear violation, according to legal experts interviewed by the Times. However, neither company is likely to be happy about government scrutiny; and Google is reportedly facing another investigation from the US Department of Justice over Google Book Search.

Credit: Report: FTC eyes Apple, Google board relationship from CNET News