Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone contracts with European wireless carriers are receiving scrutiny from European officials who are probing whether they violate antitrust laws. The New York Times reports that the antitrust probe began after “a group of European wireless carriers recently submitted information about their contracts with Apple to the European Commission.” Unnamed sources tell the Times that Apple’s iPhone contracts for smaller carriers are allegedly stricter than contracts for large carriers, which if true would put the smaller carriers at a significant competitive disadvantage. The European Commission says that it’s merely giving the iPhone contracts some scrutiny and that it hasn’t decided to open up a formal antitrust investigation yet.

Prior to joining BGR as News Editor, Brad Reed spent five years covering the wireless industry for Network World. His first smartphone was a BlackBerry but he has since become a loyal Android user.