Privacy groups call for Pentium III

Meetings between Intel and online privacy advocates failed to reach an agreement over the chip company's plans to embed identification codes in forthcoming Pentium III microprocessors.

The right-to-privacy groups are now calling for a recall of the next-generation chips, bringing their objections driectly before the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC is already investigating Intel on antitrust charges.

In response to initial threats for a boycott, Intel had already backed off plans to ship the chips with the ID code turned on, saying that the Pentium III security features will be inactive unless users decide to turn them on via a software utility.

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