FTC warns Intel; asks company to change business practices

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said on Wednesday that Intel stifled competition by using "threats and rewards" to force computer makers not to buy chips from rivals.

However, FTC refrained from slapping a fine on the world's largest chip maker.

Richard Feinstein, the FTC's director of competition, said he would rather Intel alter its business practices than be saddled with a fine that does little to foster competition.

The regulators said they want the company to share more of its technology with rivals.

At a news conference, FTC Bureau of Competition Director Richard Feinstein said Intel's anti-competitive conduct stretches back 10 years.

"At each stage when Intel's dominance has been threatened, they have responded not by simply competing aggressively on the merits, but with conduct that is exclusionary and detrimental to competition and consumers," he told reporters.