What is the purpose of antitrust legislation?

Antitrust legislation is a set of laws that aim to protect businesses and consumers from anticompetitive practices. The purpose of these laws is to promote healthy competition among businesses in the marketplace. This is done by preventing the formation of monopolies, which are firms that dominate a market and can unfairly control prices or reduce quality. By preventing the formation of monopolies, antitrust laws make sure that businesses must compete with each other to win marketshare, which ultimately benefits consumers. The primary enforcement of antitrust laws falls to government agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ). These agencies are responsible for investigating alleged violations of antitrust law and issuing punishments for any violations found. These punishments can include civil fines, injunctions to stop certain practices, and even criminal charges for the most extreme cases. The main purpose of antitrust legislation is to ensure fair and open competition among businesses, which ultimately benefits consumers by providing them with more choice and better-quality products at a lower price. Washington state has enacted its own set of antitrust laws to protect consumers and businesses from anticompetitive practices.

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