Why is Cuomo, and not the federal government, targeting Intel?
The US Federal Trade Commission has so far resisted calls to investigate the company itself. US Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y, urged the FTC to relent Thursday, saying, according to Dow Jones Newswires, "Antitrust investigations into Intel are springing up everywhere except Washington. It's high time the FTC woke up and started looking into practices that are harming American consumers and technological innovation."
Foer's organization has also urged the FTC to investigate Intel. "My guess is had the FTC initiated a public investigation or brought a complaint, the states would stay out of it entirely," Foer says. "The FTC at this stage has indicated it's not going to do anything."
How will customers be affected?
If Intel is using unfair practices to limit AMD revenue and, consequently, the company's ability to pursue new research, customer choice could suffer, Cuomo alleges. Monopolistic practices prevent businesses and consumers from being able to "choose the best products at the best price," he says.
The Cuomo action probably won't have any immediate impact on customers, though, because the allegations against Intel are not new, Foer says. If Intel were to change its strategy as a result of antitrust accusations, it probably already would have done so, he says.
