Tech Take: Feds Eye Apple's New iPhone Ad Rules

Federal regulators are looking at Apple's (AAPL) decision to bar some mobile advertising companies -- including Google (GOOG) -- from selling ads on the iPhone, according to the Financial Times.

On Wednesday, Omar Hamoui head of AdMod, which Google bought for $750 million, complained about Apple's new developer rules, which he said "is not in the best interests of users or developers."

Just three weeks ago, the Federal Trade Commission, which had been very concerned about Google's AdMob buy, approved that deal, in part because Apple's new iAd system signaled increased competition in the mobile ad space.

Now, regulators are looking at Apple itself. Citing "people familiar with the move," the FT said, "U.S. regulators have already taken an interest in Apple's actions, though it is not yet clear whether it will be left to the Federal Trade Commission, which carried out the recent Google investigation, or the Department of Justice to take an investigation forward."