Report: EU set to levy big fine on Intel

A number of reports say the European Commission will levy a large fine on Intel this week for violating antitrust rules.

The decision to fine the world's largest chipmaker will be handed down on Wednesday, according to Reuters. This action has been expected.

The Commission, part of the European Union, will also order Intel to change the way it provides rebates to computer makers, according to Reuters. On Friday, Commission officials discussed the Intel fine with "national competition authorities," Reuters said.

Intel's only real competition in the worldwide PC processor market is Advanced Micro Devices, which sued Intel in 2005 on antitrust grounds. Intel has been wrangling with the EU since 2001, when AMD filed a complaint.

Last July, the Commission made additional charges against Intel for abusing its dominant position in the chip market in Europe. The charges include offering inducements to European retailers for not buying processors from AMD.

Intel was also charged with paying "a leading original equipment manufacturer (OEM)" to delay the launch of a product with an AMD CPU, and giving "substantial" rebates to the same OEM if it bought only CPUs from Intel.

Various reports are characterizing the fine as one of the largest in Europe's antitrust history. Last year, a fine levied by the Commission on Microsoft exceeded $1 billion in total--a record.

[fewiii]

Maybe a better news story is who *doesn't* run afoul of EU anti-trust regulations????

[kcotham]

Looks like large companies like Intel and Microsoft need to rethink their business models.

[Vegaman_Dan]

Right on. Let's banish freedom of choice too. It's simply unfair that Intel should be allowed to sell their products- they must be forced to allow AMD to sell their stuff instead.

Right.

I know you hate all things Microsoft, but sure do love ignorance.

[sensi2]

@ Vegaman_Dan

Hmm, free market, undistorted competition, restraint of trade and while you are at it have a look at the Competition law. Both Microsoft and Intel (which I use products daily, that's really not the point) have a long habit of abusive business practices, and trying to banish freedom of -any available- choice is exactly why they was or will be fined for...

What I understand after reading comments from Apple, Microsoft and now Intel fanbois -actively boot-licking multi-billions dollars companies- lately is that they seem to support less freedom, no free market and do want to pay higher prices for less! Dunno which illness causes these appalling symptoms.

[kcotham]

@Vegaman
You're a moron with very poor reading skills. I am all for competition. But huge companies like Intel and Microsoft engage in unfair business practices that stifle an open market. Free market forces aren't at play here. The EU and the DoJ have found this to be true after exhaustive investigations. It isn't an allegation, it's a fact. So, I know you hate Apple and are actually a part of that monstrosity called "Microsoft" and any comments you make are biased as such. Go check in with your bosses at Microsoft and leave free thinking people alone.

[t8]

Good job. It is about time someone put such practices in check.

[MMC Racing]

I would *love* if the US pulled this on some EU companies. The EU would go whining to the WTO immediately.

[blafouille]

EU companies comply...

[aMUSICsite]

I think you will find that the EU also does this type of thing to European companies too, it's not all anti-american.

[finalfanoffkey]

EU customer will start paying the fine shortly.

[blafouille]

They have by pay intel too much

[finalfanoffkey]

No, you paid too much for your welfare.
And I guess there is no way to buy AMD machine in EU. Oops, most of the AMD fabs are in EU and enjoying the "welfare", no wonder they are just on par with the other EU companies. Now the German government cannot afford AMD's check so EU want Intel to pay for it.

[sundancer5]

Time to withdraw from the European Union Dictatorship all together and revoke the H1-Visa programs for all their worker. Its time for the EU to become competent in there own right and quit making excuses why their people can't create competitive products and quit making money on fine. America companies and workers don't take the whole month of August off every year.

While I am not a fan of Microsoft and their bullying, what's the different in the bullying of the EU. Enough is enough.

[blafouille]

you should enjoy life too

[t8]

The school principal is discipling the bully, that is all.

[odubtaig]

AMD's a European company? Could've fooled me. Or didn't you read the article Cap'n KneeJerk?

Intel dumped stock and bribed a major OEM to not not buy AMD. That's not competing by any stretch of the imagination.

Anyway, thanks to adi_d below:

http://arstechnica.com/hardware/news/2008/06/south-korea-fines-intel-for-anticompetitive-behavior.ars
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22594259/

So, Japan, Korea, EU. Maybe they can pay off the US courts.

[tektaktyks]

i feel sorry for them if they dont,but they chose to be enslaved..and theres not enough smart Americans to take their jobs...

[pithenumber]

this is crazy

the EU just wants our money!

[blafouille]

no no the fine will be in Euro...

[tektaktyks]

lol,your money?

[sar10538]

No it's you Americans who want all the money and you don't care about the ethics of getting it. The idea of corrupt practices seems to be acceptable to you and just part of the American way of life. I am NOT anti-American by a long chalk but you guys need to get your acts together and start playing responsibly for the rest of the World to accept you. In this context "you" refers to all those people doing less than ethical things, and I don't mean the average Joe evading tax's. All the time big business "sponsors" senators and the like, you will have that problem because we call it corruption.

[kcotham]

@pithenumber
How in the hell is EU getting any of your money? Imbecile.

[anilsudh]

No wonder the Europeans are big time slackers. Working 35 hours weeks and taking 6 weeks summer vacation. First their empires looted all the wealth from countries like India and countries in China. Now they just fine American companies to pay for their welfare. In 50 years they will be dominated by the Muslim immigrants and will be on a prayer rug 5 times a day.

[slickuser]

Euro will become next Pakistan!

[blafouille]

Andale ..Vato they do not celebrate Cinquo de mayo like in the US...La qualite de vie mon ami...European rule in their own country if you do not mind...

[odubtaig]

Oh great, the KKK have arrived. You got those ovens on order yet?

[zextron]

You are wrong. Only government workers have a 35 hour week (and not all). Currently its 48 hours and there are talks to move it to 65 although people already works much more than 48.

Yes, we looted colonies but in most cases we did not wiped out entire nations like you did with Native Americans. India and China are booming today, unlike Sioux or Dakota.

European Muslims have much more loyalty to the countries they live in than native Europeans (please see survey on http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8038398.stm ). I'm not afraid of European Muslims as long as the other Europeans treat them right, as equals.

This news is about companies abusing dominant position, not USA versus EU. I'm an IT worker. I work all day (and some nights) almost exclusively with Microsoft products and I love them. Saying that I recognize that sometimes they need a slap on the wrist not to poke too deep on consumer pockets. As for Intel, let's wait and see. I think that USA AMD workers may agree with EU commission.

Best (and friendly) regards to all!
Zé.

[monkeyfun14]

@Zextron

We moved a groups of people they chose to rebel and got killed...

The UK tried to force their rule on dozens of nations rebels were also killed and alot of culture in these countries were modified and often the inhabitants were treated like 2nd rate citizens as the history of India shows.

So yeah basically the US took over one piece of land the UK and the rest of Europe bullied china took over some countries in Asia and took over basically the whole African continent while making a game out of it.

[Seaspray0]

@odubtaig. The KKK doesn't use ovens. They're known for the burning cross. You seem to have them mixed up with the nazi's who burned jews in ovens during the hollocost. If you're reading a muslim history book, I can understand how you'd get the truth wrong on that one.

[odubtaig]

Yeah, all the use of NAZI symbolism and imagery is just a coincidence. Right. Pull the other one, it's got bells on.

[sar10538]

Well, it would be great if you American's actually worked more than 35 hours a week, then you can make statements like this. I know, because I've worked both sides of the pond and just being at work for long hours does not equate to actually being productive.

[sensi2]

Muhahahaha, brainwashed, ignorant and bigoted parrots regurgitating the usual nonsense from their cave. Funny if not pathetic.

[slickuser]

I think US should fine all the euro companies and Intel should close the factory in Ireland.
Let the suckers buy Chinese processors!

[blafouille]

Intel and Microsoft will bend over European regulations...Sorry for the proud Americain but in front of the money who does not....

[sharmajunior]

companies have to bos down to rules and regulations as per the country. Look at google, yahoo, youtube as examples in china. They have such high filters on their websites and because of that, you hear stories of innocent people dying because these companies handed over the user data to the government and the government didn't like what the user was doing so they killed him.

[sar10538]

Perhaps they would if Intel wasn't bribing the suppliers in Europe to only sell their gear. If Intel stuff is so great why doesn't it just sell on it's own benefits. If Chinese processors are so bad, the consumer will not buy them. Why try to tilt the playing field if their product is so good.

[blafouille]

European people are more sensitive on social issue,they pay for it but they like this way,they do not need the American model of living they have their own...Anti-monopole rule exist in Usa...enforcement...

[Seaspray0]

@anilsudh. There are also slums in the usa. The next time you want to throw stones like that, perhaps you should look at yourself.

@blafouille. I wouldn't call it being more sensitive to social issues, I'd call it living in a country with a more socaialist government. But if you guys are happy with it, that's fine by me.

[knowles2]

Last I check USA got vast slums and ghettos in cities, 60 million without health insurence.
And New Orleans is still being rebuilt, the most power full nation on earth and you cannot even help your own people.
Then you got once a week school shooting problem in America, I mean when last you heard of massacre of children in the UK.

Each country got there own problems. Most of them are things we do not like to talk about. But they are all there.

[monkeyfun14]

@knowles

And the UK has a out of control teen pregnancy problem.

When is the last time there was a school shooting in the US? It was years ago.

[odubtaig]

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/04/10/mich.college.shooting/
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/04/26/hampton.university.shooting/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/repcard3e.pdf

"The United States teenage birth rate of 52.1 is the highest in the
developed world ? and about four times the European Union
average."

If there was ever a glass house.

[c-n-e-t]

The following is a conversation recorded between the head of Finance and the Commissioner of the EU Anti-Trust group right before this announcement came out.

Finance: Madam, our budget forecast for next year shows a deficit of $1 billion. What shall we do?

Commissioner: Well...we can't fine Microsoft again so soon, it would look suspicious to the American. Is there another large American company in the Computer industry we can fine to get our operating budget?

Finance: Well, the only other American company in the computer industry large enough to survive a $1 billion fine is Intel.

Commissioner: Thank god for the American! Where would our department be without their giant computer monopolies. By the way, should we make Intel sell two versions of their chips just like what we did with Microsoft?

Finance: Uhh...I don't think we should. We look pretty foolish after we made Microsoft offer two versions of Windows, one with Windows Media Player and the other without and they only sold a total of one copy in the EU. It turns out that when given a choice, people like to get more for their money.

(Disclaimer: the above conversation is what we in the United States like to call a "parody". No such conversation actually took place!)

[CCKiev]

Would love to see Intel tell them "about the fine? Uh, take a flying leap; and by the way, we're cutting shipments by 1/2 to the EU nations. And, oh yes, almost forgot, we're revoking your license to use our products in your defense industry."

[sar10538]

Well, that would at least improve competition (sorry guys the "c" word) and open up the field for more innovation than the Intel monopoly. A monopoly which now seems to have been fueled, not by the excellence of the product, but by rather dubious business ethics.

[lionelhutz]

Europe sure loves placing big fines on American companies for this "anti competitive" nonsense. First it was Microsoft, and now Intel. Let's face it, this is America-hating, capitalism-hating, European nonsense. Perhaps Intel and Microsoft should just pull out of Europe altogether for a few years and see how they like living in the dark ages. Maybe they would rethink their policies after being forced to run Linux on an AMD desktop with Star Office.

[NickH]

American companies sure love all this nonesense with breaking the EU competition laws. First it was Microsoft, and now Intel. Let's face it, this is american ignorance of respecting local laws. Perhaps Intel and Microsoft should learn to work within the law, because the EU is a huge market and vital to them if they dont want to spend the next few years in the ecomonic dark ages. Maybe they are they no alternative business stratesies in the face of compeition of Linux, AMD, and Star Office.

[monkeyfun14]

@Nick

The EU needs Intel and Microsoft more then they need them.

If Intel and Microsoft left the market because of EU's harsh fines the EU would have their hands full in complaints. Even alot of Europeans think their rulings are stupid.

[tektaktyks]

nonsense? ever had an amd machine?yea ,i know ,linux is complicated..right? lol

[monkeyfun14]

@tektak

Go tell a gamer that he'll have to ditch his i7 and Windows for Linux and AMD and tell me how it goes over for you.

[selfkill]

That's why they don't put biased and overly emotional people such as yourself in charge of multinational corporations. They'll take the fine and reform to Europe's set standards instead of losing billions trying teach them a "lesson".

[Calabros]

if Intel's staff would think like you people commented here, this company never could be a giant leader in chips and micro processors.without Big Customers, a company cant be Big. GM was a good example.
most of those Big Customers are in EU, India, China and even Japan. if you tell them: "Go Away and use your own Cheap Chips" in just 6 month you will have to go to Washington to get aid from Obama.
Great Business, needs great patience and tolerance.

[dwimmer38]

Maybe Intel should stop selling to the EU. Let's see the EU do without American CPU's for awhile.

[odubtaig]

Yeah, Intel should stop selling to one of the world's biggest markets. I can see that meeting:

Intel CEO: We're going to stop selling to a wealthy region with a population of over 830Million.

Shareholders: You're fired.

You idiots need our money.

[monkeyfun14]

And you idiots need our chips.

[tektaktyks]

chips made in china...by Chinese workers,on a bowl of rice a day...

[sar10538]

So how much American stuff is made in America these days I wonder. Go look at the labels on the stuff in your shops and then see the writing on the wall.

[JadedGamer]

(In Stewie voice) If the American company Intel wants to secede the European market to the American competitor AMD... how smart is that really? I mean from a business perspective? Giving away markets to your competitors? Hm?

The fact is that these deals made it uneconomic for those who signed to get procecssors FOR FREE from AMD. That is how bad the deal was for competition.

[Altotus]

Is everyone slow? Paying to keep AMD out of the market is not fair of course they are caught and they knew before this happened that it would be an issue Intel had to know and did it anyway. I doubt if anyone was fired the executives knew what they were doing when they did it.

[3tire]

? They gave volume discounts. Just like everyone and his grandmother does. Just like you would want. Unfortunately the socialist tendencies in the EU keeps popping up and they used this as justification to levy a fine. Now why doesn't AMD get the same fine? They do offer volume discounts too now don't they? Because they are smaller and it's politically expedient to punish the perceived 'bully'.

[odubtaig]

3tire. Read the article properly. They specifically paid an OEM to not buy AMD. That's not a volume discount no matter how you look at it.

[adi_d]

http://arstechnica.com/hardware/news/2008/06/south-korea-fines-intel-for-anticompetitive-behavior.ars
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22594259/

Ooops... Maybe Intel should stop selling chips to anyone. They will probably be better if they used their own American chips inernally only and let the rest of the world struggle with Linux, AMD chips and Star Office. I am sure Intel would prosper and the rest of the world would return to the Dark Ages this way...

[sar10538]

That's interesting. Maybe we should build a Hadrian's wall round America and see just how well it gets on, on it's own. On the flipside, I think the rest of the World would get on just fine once they got over the shock of having all things Americana shoved down it's neck. The sun does not shine out of your...

[pedershk]

Urrr. A lot of people in this comments thread obviously hasn't understood what the issue is about. This is about Intel PAYING OEMs (Dell, anyone - ever wondered why they kept with "just Intel" for so long?) to NOT use AMD processors. The companies were given "marketing support" on the order of a couple of hundred dollars for each and every Intel processor they sold when competing against AMD-based products.

And since everyone has forgotten this, AMD is another American company. Be glad that the EU comission actually favors real competition, as this is WAY better for the consumer and people who buy the products. This is about unfair advantage, not "bullying" american companies. In this case, another american company was actually HELPED.

[ITSavy]

But EU will not pay money to pay fines to AMD, EU will use the hard earned American money to feed their people on welfare.
Pirate Bay is in Europe , they have caused damages worth billions of dollars, first EU should dare to collect money from thieves Pirate Bay

[odubtaig]

That court case was weeks ago. Try to keep up.

[Firekast]

What makes me laugh is that all these Americans going on about the EU taking money from America, just answer this question "How many fabrication plants of Intels are in the US"....I suppose you also think the first computer was made in the US, and yes in Europe we all live in castles, have 6 weeks holidays during summer, we also in Britain all have tea at 4pm whilst watching the queens daily speech, talk about xenophobic attitudes, coming from a country based on immigration I think its surreal the comments I've read on here, haven't laughed so much on a Monday morning in ages. The case is about industry, not locality.

[Seaspray0]

Well, in texas, that "castle" of yours is about the right size to be used for the horses as the barn. The ranch house is much bigger. You can barely see the oil rigs in the back yard. We don't have the time for the 6 week holidays as it takes that long to ride around the ranch where we chat about our guns and who's next in line for the death penalty. Make sure and bring your own tea because we preferer beer and whiskey.

[NickH]

@sundancer:

You said: "Its time for the EU to become competent in there own right and quit making excuses why their people can't create competitive products"

Are you aware that Germany alone (an EU member) is the worlds largest exporter?

Maybe we are so competitive exactly because we have anti-trust laws that ensure continued competition. Theres a concept for you to ponder on.

[ITSavy]

Are you faking, can germany even stand before Japan in terms of exports...

[CNET editors' note: Prohibited content deleted.]

[NickH]

@ITSavy:

You said "you are faking."

I know you would like to thing I am, but I am not. Ask the CIA...

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2078rank.html

[sar10538]

Well if you guys ceate such competitive products, why do you have to bribe distributors not to sell other products. Hoist on your own petard!