The Antitrust Laws - Federal Trade Commission
The antitrust laws proscribe unlawful mergers and business practices in general terms, leaving courts to decide which ones are illegal based on the facts of each case. Courts have applied the antitrust laws to changing markets, from a time of horse and buggies to the present digital age.
Guide to Antitrust Laws - Federal Trade Commission
The FTC's competition mission is to enforce the rules of the competitive marketplace — the antitrust laws. These laws promote vigorous competition and protect consumers from anticompetitive mergers and business practices.
Bureau of Competition - Federal Trade Commission
The FTC’s Bureau of Competition enforces the nation's antitrust laws, which form the foundation of our free market economy. The antitrust laws promote the interests of consumers; they support unfettered markets and result in lower prices and more choices.
Price Fixing - Federal Trade Commission
Price fixing is a major concern of government antitrust enforcement. Individuals and companies that knowingly enter price-fixing agreements are routinely investigated by the FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies and can be criminally prosecuted.
The Enforcers - Federal Trade Commission
Both the FTC and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division enforce the federal antitrust laws. In some respects their authorities overlap, but in practice the two agencies complement each other. Over the years, the agencies have developed expertise in particular industries or markets.
Mergers - Federal Trade Commission
Merger law is generally forward-looking: it bars transactions that may harm competition. The premerger notification requirements of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act allow the antitrust agencies to examine the likely effects of proposed mergers before they take place.
Vertical Issues in Federal Antitrust Law - Federal Trade Commission
Both the courts and the antitrust agencies have struggled with two key issues related to vertical alliances: First, how do they cause anticompetitive harm? Second, how should the analysis treat the substantial efficiencies that they generate?
Predatory or Below-Cost Pricing | Federal Trade Commission
A: Pricing below a competitor's costs occurs in many competitive markets and generally does not violate the antitrust laws. Sometimes the low-pricing firm is simply more efficient.
Monopolization Defined - Federal Trade Commission
The antitrust laws prohibit conduct by a single firm that unreasonably restrains competition by creating or maintaining monopoly power.
Information exchange: be reasonable - Federal Trade Commission
Dec 11, 2014 · The statement confirms that antitrust law is not a roadblock to legitimate information sharing. What types of data exchanges among competitors are “reasonable?” The antitrust agencies have identified a “safety zone” within which data exchanges are highly unlikely to raise substantial concerns.