Monday, October 26th 2009
Now US Inclines to Fine Intel for Antitrust Malpractice
Trailing the European Union's record 1.45 Billion Dollar penalty against silicon giant Intel for antitrust malpractice in Europe, American antitrust regulators are on the verge of filing their own set of charges against the company, emanating out of similar findings of investigations carried out by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Sources tell BusinessDay that three out of four commissioners on the FTC were in favor of filing a complaint against Intel. FTC's own inquiry opened in June, last year. It could be a matter of weeks, or even months before a vote formalizing FTC's stand on the issue happens.
"Our business practices are lawful and [work] to the benefit of consumers," said Intel spokesperson Chuck Mulloy, in response to the BusinessDay report. "We certainly have been working closely with the FTC as they conduct their investigation. We would hope that the speculation is incorrect ," he added. The US antitrust investigation follows similar investigations that have concluded against the favor of Intel, by the European Union, South Korea, and Japan. Japan's trade commission concluded in 2005 that Intel violated the country's anti-monopoly act. In June last year, South Korea fined Intel about $26m, finding it offered rebates to PC makers in return for not buying AMD microprocessors. EU's investigations yielded similar findings, where the company was fined 1.06 Billion EUR for paying computer makers to postpone or cancel products that use microprocessors made by smaller competitor AMD.
Source:
BusinessDay
"Our business practices are lawful and [work] to the benefit of consumers," said Intel spokesperson Chuck Mulloy, in response to the BusinessDay report. "We certainly have been working closely with the FTC as they conduct their investigation. We would hope that the speculation is incorrect ," he added. The US antitrust investigation follows similar investigations that have concluded against the favor of Intel, by the European Union, South Korea, and Japan. Japan's trade commission concluded in 2005 that Intel violated the country's anti-monopoly act. In June last year, South Korea fined Intel about $26m, finding it offered rebates to PC makers in return for not buying AMD microprocessors. EU's investigations yielded similar findings, where the company was fined 1.06 Billion EUR for paying computer makers to postpone or cancel products that use microprocessors made by smaller competitor AMD.
129 Comments on Now US Inclines to Fine Intel for Antitrust Malpractice
Its unfair and un lawful for companys to do this.
True, this needs to be proven, but this has already been proven in europe and other contries, so i think this will be the case in the US also.
*Jk its just maxed out.
Additionally, the consumer will be given extra choice now that hopefully Intel's "exclusive deals" will stop.
Also, 10% of a quarter's profit is a LOT of money.
Anyway fining them is good for the consumer always, because it prevents them and others from doing the same again and again, and promotes free market, where overall prices are always better than when a single company dictates the prices. Not only they have to pay anyway, their bussiness is going to be monitored for some time so that it doesn't happen again.Of course Paul*, of course, but the fact that they are thinking about fining them already shows Intel has been found guilty by them. It just means they are still deliverating if it makes sense for them to spend money and time in the courts.
*Can I call you Paul or should I stick to Mr. Otellini?
Yay! Another payday for the govt!!!!
I think it's a little pointless. The PR would do more damage than the fine...
Need I also mention that "source" is in the UK. Last time I checked, the FTC doesn't operate outside of the USA.The most the FTC ever fined was $15 million involving identity theft of 800 people. I would be surprised if the fine exceeded $100 million.
Anyway let's forget about that for a moment: did you ever heard of what a press correspondent is? I sincerely can't understand what matters from which country comes the info as long as it comes from a reputable and big news company like this... You have paranoia about the EU my friend.
* It's funny they are under anti-trust investigation too BTW, but that means that Reuters journalists may have a closer relation wth the FTC than many other media.