Intel hit with EU antitrust fine

Intel was fined 376 million euros ($621 million) on Friday in an EU antitrust case stemming from actions the U.S. chipmaker took between 2002 and 2006.

An initial record fine of 1.06 billion euros ($1.75 billion) in 2009 was thrown out last year by the Luxembourg-based General Court, Europe’s second highest.

The court, however, agreed with the European Commission that Intel illegally excluded rivals from the market which prompted the EU antitrust watchdog to re-open the case.

The 2009 ruling accused Intel of blocking rival Advanced Micro Devices.

On Friday, the EU watchdog said it had re-imposed a fine for practices between November 2002 and December 2006 when Intel paid HP, Acer and Lenovo to halt or delay rival products.

“The General Court confirmed that Intel’s naked restrictions amounted to an abuse of dominant market position under EU competition rules,” the European Commission said in a statement.

Intel did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Commission has appealed the General Court’s ruling last year at the EU Court of Justice, Europe’s top court.

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AndyC

Andy Curtis is an award-winning security consultant, researcher and public speaker. He has been working in the computer security industry since the early 1990s, having been employed by state and federal government, leading healthcare and banking providers across three continents. He has given talks about computer security for some of the world’s largest companies, worked with law enforcement agencies on investigations into hacking groups, and is a regular voice on TV and radio explaining IT security threats.

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