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Adobe Ads Challenge Apple's Flash Policy

Adobe on Thursday presented a public challenge to Apple's oversight of its mobile platform, not in a court of law as the company has reportedly been considering, but in the court of public opinion.

The company bought full page ads in fifteen national and international newspapers, including The Financial Times, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, proclaiming its love for Apple and its lack of enthusiasm for Apple's refusal to support Adobe's Flash technology on iPhone OS devices.

"What we don't love is anybody taking away your freedom to choose what you create, how you create it, and what you experience on the Web," the company's ad says.

Inside Apple's iPad: FCC Teardown Photos
(click image to view gallery)
Inside Apple's iPad: FCC Teardown Photos

Adobe founders and board co-chairmen John Warnock and Chuck Geschke elaborated on this line of argument in an open letter on the company's Web site.

"We believe that consumers should be able to freely access their favorite content and applications, regardless of what computer they have, what browser they like, or what device suits their needs," their letter says. "No company -- no matter how big or how creative -- should dictate what you can create, how you create it, or what you can experience on the Web."

Geschke and Warnock conclude by claiming that Apple is taking the opposite approach, a path that "could undermine this next chapter of the Web."

In choosing to highlight the competitive impact of Apple's actions, Adobe may be echoing the language it used to communicate its dissatisfaction with Apple to the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice. The two agencies are reportedly negotiating to see which one will conduct a preliminary antitrust inquiry into Apple's actions.

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