Intel and the FTC settle antitrust case
Intel and the Federal Trade Commission have settled their antitrust case, the FTC announced Wednesday. The FTC said that the settlement resolves the charges that Intel had illegally stifled competition in the computer chip market, while Intel has agreed to a new set of provisions designed to renew competition and keep the company from quashing its rivals.
The settlement prohibits Intel from using threats, bundled prices, or other offers to exclude or hamper the competition in the sale of CPUs (central processing units), GPUs (graphic processing units), or chipsets. The settlement also prevents Intel from deceiving computer makers about the performance of non-Intel CPUs or GPUs. The accord goes beyond any reached in prior antitrust cases against Intel, according to the FTC. The new agreement was set up to protect all of Intel’s competition in the CPU, graphics, and chipset markets rather than any one single rival, said the agency. That point refers to the antitrust lawsuit filed against Intel by AMD, which cost Intel $1.25 billion to settle but affected only its actions toward AMD.
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