Flash may come to iPhone, if EU gets its way

Crikey. As if Steve Jobs didn’t have enough iPhone 4 issues (‘problems’ don’t exist on the Cupertino complex) to contend with, here’s one more certain to arrive in his MobileMe Inbox soon.

After antenna-gate, proximity sensor-gate, and albino-gate comes Flash-gate. Or more accurately, Digital Agenda-gate.

What’s this Digital Agenda, I hear you ask? Well, back in May the EU Commission launched the extremely ambitious Digital Agenda for Europe, which sets seven ICT-related goals for the coming decade.

I won’t bore you with six of the targets, but let’s just say one could well be setting alarm bells ringing at Apple HQ in the not-too-distant future.

Priority #2 (of seven) from Neelie Kroes, Commissioner for the Agenda, reads, ‘Improve ICT standard-setting and interoperability - To allow people to create, combine and innovate we need ICT products and services to be open and interoperable.’

Ms Kroes is kind enough to elaborate on this particular objective in an interview with EurActiv, stating that, "We need to make sure that significant market players cannot just choose to deny interoperability with their product. This is particularly important in cases where standards don't exist.

"This is not just about Microsoft or any big company like Apple, IBM, or Intel. The main challenge is that consumers need choice when it comes to software or hardware products. Any kind of IT product should be able to communicate with any type of service in the future."

In theory, this could mean that Apple is compelled to include Adobe’s Flash plug-in by EU law, and that European iPhone owners can look forward to intrusive pop-up ads, FarmVille, and BBC video clips in Safari on their handsets sooner rather than never.