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Anti Trust |
Derived From: FTC Staff Report 2007 p 120: The antitrust laws are grounded in the principle that competition - "that state of affairs in which output is maximized, price is minimized, and consumers are entitled to make their own choices"582 - serves to protect consumer welfare. This persistent focus on the consumer ensures that enforcement resources are directed at protecting consumers through the competitive process, not at protecting individual market players.
Vigorous competition on the merits by a single firm, such as the charging by such firm of a price that may be higher than would occur in a market with more competitors, does not by itself constitute anticompetitive conduct. As the Supreme Court noted recently in the Trinko583 case, the charging of monopoly prices by a lawful monopolist by itself "is not only not unlawful; it is an important element of the free market system."584 Thus, the antitrust laws do "not give judges carte blanche to insist that a monopolist alter its way of doing business whenever some other approach might yield greater competition."585 Empirical evidence and our enforcement experience confirm that competition itself can force changes on a market and erode monopoly profits. Indeed, it is the purpose of the antitrust laws to protect that competitive process.
Conduct that has the potential to be both anticompetitive and harmful to consumers, under certain conditions, and procompetitive and capable of improving efficiency, under other conditions, is analyzed under the "rule of reason" to determine the net effect of such conduct on consumer welfare.586 In contrast, conduct that is always or almost always harmful to consumers - such as collusion among horizontal competitors - generally is deemed per se illegal under the antitrust laws.587 As discussed in the following section, these principles apply to Internet-related markets in the same manner as they do to other markets in our economy.
- BELL ATLANTIC CORP., ET AL.v.TWOMBLY, WILLIAM, ET AL.. Decided 05/21/2007, SCt 5/22/2007
- Agenda for Public Workshop on Anticompetitive Efforts to Restrict Competition on the Internet, FTC 10/7/02
- FTC Releases Agenda for Public Workshop on Possible Anticompetitive Efforts to Restrict Competition on the Internet, FTC 10/1/02
- FTC Chair and Antitrust Chief to Unveil Clearance Procedures for Antitrust Investigations at Press Conference, FTC 1/17/02
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by Richard A. Posner 
News
FTC Asks For Antitrust Ruling Vs. Rambus, Reuters 1/17/03 Feds Clear Orbitz Again, Internet News 12/18/02 Beware the Toothless Antitrust Lawsuit Newsfactor 11/8/02 U.S. closes investigation into eBay, MSNBC 3/25/02 Hollings Opens Review of New Antitrust Procedures, Wash Tech 3/13/02 Antitrust Agencies Swap Merger Review Authority, Newsbytes 3/6/02 Justice, FTC Split Duties On Antitrust, Wash Tech 3/6/02 FTC and DOJ Announce New Clearance Procedures for Antitrust Matters, ftc 3/6/02 DOJ Refuses To Sign FTC Deal, Internet News 1/18/02 Plan to Split Up Antitrust Oversight Stalls, NYT 1/18/02 Senate Panels To Review Govt. Antitrust Reform Plan, Wash Tech 1/18/02 European Commission to rule on HP-Compaq deal, FT 1/17/02 FTC Backs Off Anti-Trust Review, Internet News 1/17/02 FTC & Justice Dept. Nix Plans To Streamline Antitrust Review, Wash Tech 1/17/02 FTC To Give Up Review Of Media, Telecom Mergers, Wash Tech 1/17/02 DOJ may oversee cable, media mergers, CNET 1/17/02 FTC Chairman Backs Off Giving Up Anti- Trust Review, Internet News 1/17/02 EU to Hold Microsoft Hearing Next Month, Wash Tech 11/23/01 FTC seeks more info on HP/Compaq deal, CW 11/16/01 FTC Widens Review Of Monster.com-HotJobs Merger, Newsbytes 8/15/01
