The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced it is suing chip maker Intel over alleged anti-competitive behaviour.
The FTC is accusing Intel of using its dominant market position to purposefully stifle competition and innovation in the industry. The case suggests that Intel coerced computer manufacturers into using its products rather than those offered by its rivals.
The accusations are similar to those listed in a number of other anti-competitive investigations Intel has faced. In May 2009, the European Commission ordered the firm to pay €1.06bn over claims that it gave rebates to computer makers in return for using their chips ahead of those offered by rival AMD. In November 2009 New York’s attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, sued the firm for similar reasons.
In the same month, Intel and AMD settled their differences, with Intel agreeing to hand over $1.25bn to its smaller rival in a case that ended legal proceedings between the two firms. This agreement did not impact Intel’s appeal against the EU fine.
As well as familiar accusations regarding AMD, this latest case also includes graphics card maker Nvidia. “We applaud today’s action by the US Federal Trade Commission,” the company said. “We are particularly pleased to see scrutiny being placed on Intel’s behaviour towards GPUs, which have become an increasingly important part of the PC industry.”
Intel quickly defend itself against the claims and implied that the FTC’s case is flawed. “The FTC’s case is misguided,” the company said in a statement. “It is based largely on claims that the FTC added at the last minute and has not investigated. In addition, it is explicitly not based on existing law but is instead intended to make new rules for regulating business conduct. These new rules would harm consumers by reducing innovation and raising prices.”
