Google Dismisses Antitrust Concerns Over Ties to Apple

Google executives acknowledged Thursday that the Federal Trade Commission is inquiring about the antitrust implications of the ties between the Google and Apple boards. But they said they do not believe that the fact that Apple and Google share two directors — Eric Schmidt, the chief executive of Google, and Arthur Levinson, the former chief executive of Genentech — is a problem.

“From my perspective, I don’t think Google sees Apple as a primary competitor,” Mr. Schmidt said during a meeting with reporters ahead of the company’s annual meeting of shareholders. Mr. Schmidt said if there were areas of competition between the two, he would recuse himself from discussions. He added that it was well known that he typically recuses himself from Apple board discussions related to the Apple iPhone. – from NYtimes