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The Federal Trade Commission began a probe earlier this year to explore the links between the Apple and Google boards of directors. While there are a variety of relationships between the two boards there is no implication of wrongdoing at this point. Whether or not the incestuous relationship between the two directly violates any regulations though, it still lies in an ethical shady area that calls into question whether or not the boards have the shareholder’s best interests in mind.

In a nutshell, Google CEO Eric Schmidt was on the Apple board of directors until he resigned this week. In addition, former Genentech CEO Arthur Levinson is a member of both boards, and former Vice President Al Gore is both a member of the Apple board of directors and a senior advisor to Google. There are some other cross-overs and overlaps as well.

The job of the board of directors is to represent the shareholders and to help guide and build the company to generate share value. It does make sense to involve successful business leaders on the board. Individuals with a proven track record of success are an asset to the board. But, when the companies are in competition with one another there is a conflict of interest and the board members cannot possibly represent both parties’ best interests in good faith.