NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Federal regulators will investigate whether Apple's business practices harm competition in the market for software used on mobile devices, according to a published report.
The Federal Trade Commission is preparing to review allegations that Apple has shut other companies out of the important new computing platform, sources told the Wall Street Journal.
It was decided that the FTC would lead the probe after weeks of talks with the Justice department over which agency would conduct the investigation, the report said.
The report cited ongoing tensions between Apple and software maker Adobe Systems (ADBE), which stem from Apple's decision to ban Adobe's Flash video technology from its mobile devices.
Apple has also been criticized recently by Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) for rules that could block the search engine from selling ads on popular devices such as the iPhone and iPad, according to the report.
In addition, Apple has banned software developers from using other companies' tools to develop software for its devices, the report said.
Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The FTC could not be reached for comment. ![]()






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