FCC Probing Apple, AT&T Rejection of Google Voice

suraj.sun writes with an update to the news from a few days ago about Apple pulling Google Voice apps for the iPhone. Their actions have raised the interest of the FCC, which is now beginning an investigation into the matter. "In a letter sent to Apple, the FCC asked the company why it turned down Google Voice for the iPhone and pulled several other Google Voice-related programs from the iPhone's only sanctioned online mart. The FCC also sent similar letters to both AT&T — Apple's exclusive carrier partner in the US — and Google, asking both firms to provide more information on the issue. The FCC's letter asked Apple whether it rejected Google Voice and dumped other applications on its own, or 'in consultation with AT&T,' and if the latter, to describe the conversations the partners had. In other questions, the FCC asked Apple whether AT&T has any role in the approval of iPhone applications, wants the company to explain how Google Voice differs from any other VoIP software that has been approved, and requested a list of all applications that have been rejected and why."

We would like to thank our sponsors

[lalena]

This investigation has been brought to you by Google.

Mmm

[cardsinhand]

Hope this takes a bite out of Apple's market share.

How is the FCC even involved?

[kc5deb]

Since when has the FCC become the government's "private company czar"?

Regulations are stupid

[copponex]

Of course, if you regulate an industry, you make it slow and impede business and you're a socialist. Everyone knows that self regulation [wikipedia.org] leads to utopia [wikipedia.org], much as disbanding our police departments would lead to a lower crime rate.

Re:The most interesting section

[Anonymous Coward]

#69: Dangerously sexy.
#124: Got tailgated on my way to work today.
#459: Users can't handle that much power.
#644: Toothache.
#692: That background with those buttons? Honey, no!
#771: Wife threatening to leave me.
#841: Better than our stuff.
#1230: Made fun of Apple user stereotypes. Very funny. Not.
#1599: I know this guy, he's a jerk.
#1998: Not hip.
#2000: 2000 GET! Haha, suckers!
#3922: My God, is that a nipple?!
#5210: Took His name in vain.
#6184: Anti-monopolistic.

Apple officially adopts Evil(tm)

[David Gerard]

After bricking unlocked iPhones, kicking applications off the iPhone store that might even slightly compete with iTunes in the far future and charging developers for the privilege and filing a wave of patents on basic well-known computer science, Apple Inc. today filed a Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission declaring that it was openly adopting Evil(tm) as a corporate policy [today.com].

"Fuck it," said Steve Jobs to an audience of soul-mortgaged thralls, "we're evil. But our stuff is sooo good. You'll keep taking our abuse. You love it, you worm. Because our stuff is great. It's shiny and it's pretty and it's cool and it works. It's not like you'll go back to a Windows Mobile phone. Ha! Ha!"

Steve Ballmer of Microsoft was incensed at the news. "Our evil is better than anyone's evil! No-one sweats the details of evil like Microsoft! Where's your antitrust trial, you polo-necked bozo? We've worked hard on our evil! Our Zune's as evil as an iPod any day! I won't let my kids use a lesser evil! We're going to do an ad about that! I'll be in it! With Jerry Seinfeld! Beat that! Asshole."

"Of course, we're still not evil, we said so," said Sergey Brin of Google. "You can trust us on this. Every bit of data about you, your life and the house you live in is strictly a secret between you and our marketing department. But, hypothetically, if we were evil, it's not like you're going to use Windows Live Search. I mean, 'Bing.' Ha! Ha! I'm sorry, that's my 'spreading good cheer' laugh. Really."