Intel has lost its latest challenge against a European Commission antitrust fine, though the penalty was reduced by a third. The case, originating in 2009, involves anticompetitive practices that targeted rivals in the PC processor market. This ruling pertains to payments made to delay AMD-powered products.
The European Commission imposed a €376 million ($438.7 million) fine on Intel in a long-standing antitrust dispute, but a court has now reduced it to €237 million ($276.6 million). This decision upholds a portion of the original penalty related to "naked restrictions," where Intel made anticompetitive payments to HP, Acer, and Lenovo between 2002 and 2006 to delay or halt production of products using AMD processors.
The case began in 2009, during the early days of mobile computing when netbooks were popular. Regulators found that Intel violated EU antitrust laws through hidden rebates designed to exclude competitors from the PC processor market and by paying manufacturers to avoid AMD chips. The full initial fine was much larger at €1.06 billion ($1.2 billion), but parts have been overturned over the years.
Legal battles have dragged on for over a decade. In 2017, Europe's highest court mandated a re-examination due to insufficient economic analysis of Intel's impact on rivals. By 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union confirmed the overturning of the hidden rebates section, eliminating that €1.06 billion penalty. The remaining fine for naked restrictions was upheld in 2023, leading to Intel's recent appeal, which succeeded only in reducing the amount by one-third.
Both Intel and the Commission retain the option to appeal to the EU Court of Justice on legal grounds, potentially extending this saga into next year. The ruling underscores ongoing scrutiny of big tech's market practices in Europe.
