Google has handled the FCC investigation over the rejection of Google Voice applications on the iPhone applaudably well. The search giant has offered lengthy explanations of just what the application does and answered FCC questions with tact an honesty, even going so far as to keep private the conversations it had with Apple regarding the subject matter.
Those conversations weren’t meant to stay private, though, and after several Freedom of Information Act filings Google’s letters to the FCC can now be viewed in unedited form (PDF). The most interesting response, and the one Google had tried to keep private, cements Apple’s villainy in the matter and suggests Apple lied to the FCC with regard to the application.
According to Google, Apple did reject the application, the news of which was delivered by none other than Phil Schiller. You may recall that Apple claimed it did not reject the app but was still pondering just what to do. It’s been a month since that claim surfaced and yet we still have no Google Voice app.
It seems pretty obvious that Google was giving Apple some time to do the right thing. So what if they wanted to lie; if the application finally made it into the store, even on a few months delay, no problem. But Apple did nothing, so instead of asking the FCC to reject the FoIA requests, Google released the documents in full, which puts Apple in a very unfriendly sort of limelight. No one is happy about this decision, and a lot of people are downright pissed. From here it looks like we’ll just be waiting to see whether Apple will try to appease the consumer and the FCC with an approval, or be forced to do so via legislation.
