"Rather than compete fairly, Intel used bribery and coercion to maintain a stranglehold on the market," said Cuomo, who served Intel with a wide-ranging subpoena in January 2008. "Intel's actions not only unfairly restricted potential competitors, but also hurt average consumers who were robbed of better products and lower prices," he added. Intel has repeatedly denied antitrust allegations and filed an appeal against a recent European Commission ruling.

More than 20 lawmakers recently urged Justice Department antitrust chief Christine Varney and FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz to view the European antitrust ruling with a critical eye and weigh its impact on U.S. high-tech firms. The Sept. 18 letters to Varney and Leibowitz, spearheaded by Oregon Reps. Earl Blumenauer, a Democrat, and Greg Walden, a Republican, argued the Intel ruling "is the latest evidence of a troublesome trend in Europe toward regulatory protectionism."