Intel Sued by FTC Over Monopoly Issues

By Marcus Yam
published

Just as Intel clears one problem, another one appears.

Despite Intel's $1.25 billion settlement with AMD being already paid, the world's largest chipmaker's headaches are far from over.

Today the U.S. Federal Trade Commission launched an antitrust suit against Intel for anticompetitive practices.

"Intel has engaged in a deliberate campaign to hamstring competitive threats to its monopoly," said Richard A. Feinstein, director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition. "It's been running roughshod over the principles of fair play and the laws protecting competition on the merits."

The FTC expects that the complaint will be heard by an FTC administrative law judge next September, Bloomberg reported.

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Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
46 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Good Lord man!

    Don't those greedy 'turds have any common sense in their heads?

    Intel and AMD already straightened things out and that 1.25 Billion dollar fine really had to hurt.

    Is the FTC really trying to kill Intel or just do away with their ability to drive innovation to come out with newer processors and other products?
    Reply
  • Abrahm
    Why does it seem like everything "consumer advocacy" groups do has less to do with helping the consumer and more to do with milking money out of companies?
    Reply
  • logitic
    Is FTC the new Rambus?
    Reply
  • TunaSoda
    Isn't the FTC a monopoly?
    Reply
  • nicklasd87
    How is this lawsuit helping the consumers? I don't think I will see a dime of the outcome...
    Reply
  • logitic
    How did my comment get a Neg mark. I thought is was rather accurate since FTC Dismisses Rambus Antitrust Case, and right after that they filled their own lawsuit. I think it's rather ironic!
    Reply
  • wildwell
    Good thing Intel's lawyers are now freed-up from the AMD mess!
    Reply
  • jellico
    Who are the socialist idiots who are neg-voting all of these very valid comments?!

    The fact of the matter is that the FTC does very little to actually help or safe-guard consumers anymore. Between this, and their recent warnings about adult content in online social environments (thank you, Captain Obvious), and their recent chastizing of the movie and game industry for supposedly targeting kids with too much violence and sex, what we are seeing is, yet another, bloated government agency who thinks they have a mandate from on high to dictate to us what is and is not socially acceptable. I think the FTC, as well as numerous other federal agencies, should be defunded and their bureaucrats made to find real jobs (if that is even possible given their lack of real-world experience).
    Reply
  • soo-nah-mee
    This is just sad because whether or not is is warranted, the only effect we as enthusiasts are going to see is slowed technological progression and higher CPU prices.
    Reply
  • roofus
    This is a bad time in our country to be a successful company. Too many politicians in power loathe success in the private sector.
    Reply