What is the difference between antitrust laws and competition laws?

Antitrust and competition laws are both meant to protect consumers by promoting and preserving competition within markets. The key difference between the two is that antitrust laws focus more on preventing businesses from gaining an unfair advantage and curbing anti-competitive behaviors such as price-fixing, while competition laws are designed to ensure that businesses compete fairly and that consumers are not harmed. Antitrust laws, such as the Sherman Antitrust Act in the United States, prohibit businesses from forming a monopoly, engaging in price-fixing, and engaging in anti-competitive practices. These laws help to ensure that businesses cannot collude to drive up prices, limit access to products, or manipulate the market in other ways to their advantage. Competition laws, like the Cartwright Act in the state of California, focus more on preventing competitors from engaging in unfair or deceptive practices that are designed to harm their competitors. These laws are focused on prohibiting activities like false advertising, deceptive pricing, exclusive dealing, and cross-subsidization. Competition laws are meant to ensure that businesses compete fairly and that competition is fair for all. In short, antitrust laws focus on preventing businesses from amassing too much market power and gaining an unfair advantage, while competition laws focus on preventing deceptive practices and false advertising. In California, businesses must adhere to both antitrust and competition laws in order to ensure that markets are fair and that consumers are protected.

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What is the difference between antitrust laws and competition laws?

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