The FTC believes that there may be an antitrust problem because two members of the Google (GOOG) board sit on the Apple (AAPL) board. One of those is Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
The situation is almost certainly not a real problem.
Would Schmidt share trade Apple trade secrets with his staff? Since it would cost him his job and his sterling reputation, it is not likely. Google does not need any extra help to do well. Even if Schmidt passed along information about Apple’s operating system for handsets and its Safari browser, Google competes rather than cooperates with Apple in these businesses.
According to The Wall Street Journal, “The issue is rarely pursued, lawyers say, in part because it is difficult to prove the impact of the overlapping directors.”
Apple and Google have next to nothing to gain by violating antitrust provisions and a tremendous amount to lose.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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