From ARS Technica:

Surprise, surprise! Google’s purchase of travel services company ITA is almost certain to come under scrutiny by the government, as soon as the Federal Trade Commission and the US Department of Justice can decide which body gets to do the dirty work. According to an insider speaking to the New York Times, there are currently discussions going on between the two organizations over which one will investigate, though either one would “dig in pretty aggressively.”

To say we saw this coming would be an understatement. ITA doesn’t just have its own (awesome) website for travel planning, the company’s services power Google competitor Bing’s travel section, as well as numerous other online travel sites such as Kayak, Orbitz, and CheapTickets. In fact, ITA also powers numerous travel agencies and some airline booking systems.

As we pointed out last week, ITA is clearly very important to much of the air travel industry, and competitors are disturbed by the prospect of Google having full control of such a vital industry tool. Enter the FTC or DoJ, either of which is expected to perform a “significant review” of the purchase, according to Google CEO Eric Schmidt.

ARS Technica: FTC and DoJ mulling who gets to dig into Google’s ITA buyout

From Gizmodo:

Section 3.3.1 of the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement is the one that truly, deeply bans Flash and other cross-platform compilers, so you must use Apple’s development environment for iPhone apps. Well, it might have Apple in antitrust hot water.

The NY Post reports that the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission are “locked in negotiations over which of the watchdogs will begin an antitrust inquiry into Apple’s new policy of requiring software developers who devise applications for devices such as the iPhone and iPad to use only Apple’s programming tools.”

Gizmodo – Apple Might Face Antitrust Inquiry