What are the rights of consumers under antitrust law?

Under North Carolina antitrust law, consumers are provided with certain legal rights that help protect them from anti-competitive behavior of companies in the marketplace. The policy behind antitrust law is to promote competition, which is beneficial to consumers due to lower prices, higher quality goods and services, and increased choice. Consumers’ rights under antitrust law include the right to be protected from unlawful price-fixing, where two or more businesses work together to set prices that are higher than they would be if set independently. Consumers also have the right to be protected from monopolies and oligopolies, where a single company controls a large share of the market and can set prices higher than they should be. Additionally, consumers have the right to be protected from anti-competitive mergers and acquisitions, where one company acquires another and reduces competition in the marketplace, resulting in higher prices and fewer choices. Consumers also have the right to be protected from predatory pricing, or when a company prices its goods or services below cost in order to drive out its competitors and then raise prices once they have the market to themselves. Finally, consumers have the right to be protected from companies that use their market power to exclude other competitors from the market. Examples of this include exclusive contracts with suppliers or retailers, or companies that buy up their competitors to get rid of them as a threat. All of these are prohibited by North Carolina’s antitrust law, which serves to protect consumers by keeping markets open and competitive.

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What are the rights of consumers under antitrust law?

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