FTC Takes Intel to Court for Anti-Competitive Practices

The FTC is filing a lawsuit against Intel for alleged anti-competitive practices. The FTC alleges that Intel has used anti-competitive business practices to quash competition and limit access to the market. Specific instances cited include rewarding/threatening computer manufacturers to coerce them to avoid competitor’s chips in favor of Intel’s. The charge extends to both CPUs and graphics chips. Consumers were thereby unable to enjoy a full selection and better prices.

“As it did in the CPU markets, Intel recognized the threats posed by GPUs … and its technological inferiority in these markets and has taken a number of anti-competitive measures to combat it,” the FTC complaint said

The 18-month FTC investigation failed to produce a settlement with Intel, even as Intel settled a lawsuit with competitor AMD.

Despite the $1.25 billion settlement a month ago, AMD was far from broken up about the news of the FTC action. The company said in a statement: “The FTC’s action against Intel is good news for consumers. It is yet another example of regulators around the globe acting to protect consumers by enforcing competition laws.”

Intel will go before an administrative law judge on September 15. [via San Francisco Chronicle]