Antitrust

Antitrust laws exist to prevent companies from becoming so dominant in a market that they can crush competitors, fix prices, or block new entrants entirely, protecting consumers from the higher prices and reduced choice that tend to follow when one company controls too much of a market. Regulators can block mergers, sue to break up a company, or fine it for anticompetitive behavior. Major antitrust cases against big tech and other dominant industries make headlines because the stakes are enormous: a successful case can force a company to change how it operates or even split apart entirely.