Intel warned by Japan’s Fair Trade Commission
The commission suspects Intel Japan has given incentives to encourage clients to only buy its microprocessors. This practise is banned in Japan under the Antimonopoly Law. Although the commission has not fined Intel, it has set Intel ten days to respond or face further measures.
In a statement responding to the allegations, Intel said that it "continues to believe its business practices are both fair and lawful – competition regulators should only intervene where there is evidence of harm to consumers".
Intel’s fierce rival AMD released a statement soon after the JFTC warning, highlighting three instances of alleged anti-competitive behaviour by Intel that had been flagged up by the JFTC.
"The JFTC found that Intel illegally manipulated the market to exclude competition," claimed AMD executive Thomas McCoy. "Using market power illegally to limit innovation and, more importantly, consumers' freedom to choose cannot be tolerated. We encourage governments around the globe to ensure that their markets are not being harmed as well."
The European Union is also carrying out an investigation into Intel. "We are looking into the same issues as the Japanese have done, but in a European context," said an EU spokesman.
