Suppose your local supermarket had a loyalty card that gave you great discounts, but only if you promised not to shop anywhere else According to regulators from the European Union, Japan and South Korea, that looks just like what Intel is doing.

They say Intel is improperly protecting its stranglehold of the microprocessor market by offering big discounts and rebates to computer makers who minimize the use of processors made by rival Advanced Micro Devices, and punishing those who stray with higher prices.

Yet despite these warnings, there is one regulator that seems largely unconcerned. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is still holding back from opening a formal inquiry into the company's practices.

The abuse of market power to protect a monopoly hurts consumers and hinders innovation. With an 80 percent to 90 percent share of the microprocessor market, Intel wields much more power than your local supermarket. Its threat to raise prices the moment a customer tries to buy from rival AMD can lock in even the largest computer makers, which depend on Intel for most of their products and can't simply swap all their processors overnight. With such a level of control, Intel doesn't have to exert itself to come up with new and better products.

Two years ago, Japanese regulators said Intel was violating antitrust laws and ordered the company to drop these schemes. The European Commission has accused the company of illegally trying to drive AMD out of the market. South Korean regulators have now objected to Intel's efforts to maintain market dominance.

Members of the FTC argue that the agency can do better with an informal, cooperative review of the charges against Intel. Right now, Intel only has to hand over the information it wants to. The FTC's Republican majority clearly shares the "starve the regulators and coddle industry" philosophy that drives the Bush administration. It is bad for consumers and it is bad for business.