How does antitrust law protect consumers?

Antitrust law is designed to protect consumers by preventing businesses from engaging in practices that limit competition and increase prices for consumers. In California, the antitrust law of the state is the Cartwright Act, which prohibits anti-competitive activities such as boycotting, price-fixing, and exclusive dealing. These activities are considered anti-competitive because they limit the choices available to consumers, reducing the likelihood of quality competition that would drive prices down. The Cartwright Act also helps to protect consumers by prohibiting predatory pricing. Predatory pricing is a practice where a business cuts prices below cost for the purpose of eliminating its competition, allowing it to later raise prices to its customers. The law also discourages price discrimination, which is when a company charges different prices to different consumers based on factors such as location. The antitrust law also helps to ensure fair competition between businesses by preventing companies from consolidating too much power in their industries. When businesses become too powerful it enables them to dictate prices to consumers and exclude competing businesses from their markets. This can drive prices up and reduce the quality of products and services available to customers. Overall, antitrust law helps to create a fair and competitive market for consumers by prohibiting the anti-competitive practices mentioned above. This ensures companies are competing on the basis of quality, service and price, and that consumers have access to a wide variety of products and services at reasonable prices.

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How does antitrust law protect consumers?

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