US Federal Trade Commission officials are preparing to review allegations that Apple is trying to trammel rivalry in mobile advertising, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News. Regulators were already weighing a probe of Apple's treatment of Adobe Systems, and the US Justice Department has made preliminary inquiries into Apple's behavior in the music market. FTC spokesman Peter Kaplan declined to comment. Analysts told the news agency that Apple may have to loosen restrictions on software developers and music labels to avoid increased regulatory scrutiny and prevent damage to how its brand is perceived by the public. Antitrust enforcers in early May were said to be weighing an investigation of Apple after Adobe Systems complained that Apple is stifling competition by barring developers from using Adobe's software to create applications for iPhones and iPads, people familiar with the matter said. Three weeks later, the Justice Department was said to be looking at how Apple runs its iTunes digital music service.
