Apple is all too familiar with antitrust laws given its historic fight with Microsoft through the years in terms of “leveling the playing field” when it comes to PCs dominance over Mac, but now that Apple seems to have acquired the upper hand in the mobile space, can the company continue its current agenda while sidestepping antitrust inquiry?

Things have gotten interesting over the past couple years, with Apple’s iPhone carving a dominant position in the world of smartphones.  With its position, it’s only logical that Apple would want to make the best of it, but a few key moves in the wrong direction could topple the ecosystem that’s hoisted the iPhone platform above its competition.

Now that mobile advertising is the so-called “new frontier” in the mobile space, competition is quickly heating up between the major players.  To be dominant in mobile advertising, a mobile platform as a solid foundation plays a vital role.  Apple has built that solid foundation with its iPhone platform, and it’s turned out to be the holy grail of mobile advertising potential – taking into account location, its massive mobile-app ecosystem, the hardware itself and its massive community of developers ready and willing to create and distribute the next generation of mobile innovation.

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Some interesting news out of Malaysia today, where government officials discussed the possibility of banning contests over SMS due to the fact they contain “elements of cheating.”

More specifically, the Malaysian government sees SMS contests as a form of gambling where “people end up as losers and the organizers rake in huge profits,” stated Deputy Minister T. Murugiah during a meeting today with so-called SMS contest victims.  ”I have received many complaints from many people who have fallen prey to these scams.”

Even winners have filed complaints with the Malaysian Public Complaint Bureau, headed up by Murugiah.  ”Winners of SMS contests are short changed,” he added.  ”They’re duped into paying more than the value of the prizes they won in the first place.”

Obviously there’s more to the story.  The article released was done so by the country’s own “Bernama,” which is the governments internally-ran “national news agency.”  If such scammy and obviously anti-regulatory contests were being permitted in the first place, it’s no wonder consumers are filing complaints.  Looks to me like a lack of regulation and oversight is to blame for allowing something like this to happen in the fist place.

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2010 could be the year of the mobile phone hack attack. That’s according to Roel Schouwenberg, a senior malware researcher at Kaspersky Lab Americas. Schouwenberg is making the media rounds this final week of 2009 to present his theory that Google Wave, the iPhone and Android could sustain heavy cyber attacks throughout 2010.

Although Schouwenberg stopped short of blaming unethical mobile marketers for opening the flood gates for some of the issues he raises, Schouwenberg makes it clear that there’s plenty of blame to go around for the vulnerabilities that could be exploited next year.

“The first malicious programs for these mobile platforms appeared in 2009,” says Schouwenberg, “a sure sign that they have aroused the interest of cybercriminals.”

Schouwenberg believes that Google Wave could very well experience the bulk of attention from cyber criminals who will serve up attacks that follow a somewhat predictable pattern: “First, the sending of spam, followed by phishing attacks, then the exploiting of vulnerabilities and the spreading of malware.”

Although software security has become a multi-billion industry, there are more malicious threats facing PCs and mobile devices now than ever. And, regrettably, if Roel Schouwenberg’s predictions ring true in the new year, 2010 will bring with it many attempted security threats – no shortage of which could prove successful in causing the chaos they seek to engender.

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Two New Jersey Senators have set their sights on unsolicited text message advertising by purposing legislation that would heavily fine those who violate consumer privacy restrictions.

The two lawmakers, Sen. Joseph Vitale and Sen. Sean Kean, argue that unsolicited SMS advertising is proving very costly for consumers and have decided to sponsor legislation that would provide stiff penalties for violators, especially if they knew – or should have known – the consumer receiving the ads was a senior citizen or someone with a disability.

Violators would face fines put forth in the state’s Consumer Fraud Act, were first offenses could cost offenders as much as $10,000, while fines for subsequent violations could reach as much as $20,000.  If the violators knew – or “should have known” – that the victim is a senior citizen or someone with disability, they could be fined as much as $30,000.

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Those of us consumed in the world of mobile marketing and its subsequent topics tend to easily forget about the backbone of the mobile industry- the wireless companies themselves.  While they exist with a tremendous amount of regulation, the FCC and other government organizations are flooded with consumer complaints and internal inquiries each and every year.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has taken notice of the problem and called on the FCC to not only increase oversight of the entire wireless industry, but to do a better job of enforcing consumer protection rules as well.  A report compiled by the GAO regarding the situation was done so at the request of Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., a member of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet.

Interestingly enough, the report comes almost four months after the FCC opened a series of inquiries into the state of the wireless industry, including an examination of so-called “truth-in-billing” rules, which require phone companies to clearly describe charges on consumer bills, for example.  Apparently, the GAO wants more.

To complete its report, the GAO conducted a random survey of more than 1,100 wireless customers around the country. It found that while 84 percent of consumers are satisfied with their mobile phone service, millions are unhappy with issues such as wireless billing practices, customer service, early termination fees and other contract terms- no surprise there.

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The Federal Trade Commission has set its sights set on Google.

According to the Wall Street Journal this week, the FTC is looking into Google’s proposed $750 million acquisition of mobile advertising network AdMob.

Although many expected the mega-deal to provoke at least some attention from the FTC it seems unlikely at this time that any steps or actions will be taken to preclude the acquisition from actually taking place.

No names affiliated with either Google or the FTC were directly sourced in the article to provide inside details. According to a representative for Google, the “investigation” is presented as routine protocol.

“We don’t see any regulatory concerns with this deal, but closer scrutiny has been one consequence of our success,” a the spokesperson told the WSJ. “On that basis, we wouldn’t be surprised if there were some regulatory review before the deal closes.”

As many will recall, this instance isn’t the first time Google has been investigated. In early 2009, the Department of Justice looked into Google’s proposed Book Search settlement with authors and publishers. The DOJ had publicly expressed concern that Google would become too powerful as a result of the deal and obtain “too much control” over out-of-print books.

But if Google can ultimately be cleared as it was to purchase display advertising company DoubleClick for $3 billion, the acquisition of AdMob should ultimately present very few hurdles.

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Although it may seem as though Apple is already involved in the lingering ad wars between Verizon and AT&T, only last night did Apple formally enter the vicious marketing melee. The move comes by Apple after months of having its name along with its iPhone constantly alluded to by the warring factions in their incessant ad attacks.

On Monday evening, Apple unleashed two retaliatory iPhone TV ads that effectively aim to provide some damage control in response to Verizon’s “there’s a map for that” campaign. The Apple ads depict the iPhone’s ability to browse the Web and manage phone calls simultaneously, something that isn’t possible over Verizon’s CDMA network. The ads also fire back against Verizon’s mockery of the iPhone for lacking a “real keyboard.”

As you might expect, Apple is similarly standing by AT&T in their new round of ads that seeks to cushion the blow by Verizon, which claims that AT&T’s 3G coverage is shoddy at best in comparison to Verizon’s. The now infamous “map attack ads” are being invoked again as AT&T taps actor Luke Wilson to argue that AT&T’s mobile coverage extends to 97% Americans. However, that high number alludes to both 2.5G and 3G coverage.

The new round of ads from both Apple and AT&T comes only days after a federal court failed to grant AT&T a “restraining order” against Verizon and effectively curtail the company’s aggressive “attack ads.” Far from over, the war will continue in court with no action being taken to pull any ad from either warring party.

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