Few things are more frowned upon in let's say Western jurisdictions than business practices that undermine competition and through so-called antitrust laws (also commonly referred to as competition laws), legislators are trying to ensure that business is being done on a level playing field.
In one minute, this video explains why antitrust laws have appeared and why engaging in let's say anti-competition practices is so appealing to many businesses. In most cases, the reasons revolve around the fact that as strange as it may sound given the "reputation" of capitalism that revolves around how great entrepreneurs are doing thanks to this system, a valid case could be made that the average consumer benefits even more.
How?
One word: competition, which makes businesses approach consumers with better and better offers and in the absence of non-linear scenarios such as innovation-related ones, oftentimes leads to a race to the bottom, with profit margins being pushed down to the point of minimum profitability.
Therefore, some business owners decide to... well, bend the rules.
Antitrust laws exist to ensure such situations are kept to a minimum, with the (in)famous three being the Sherman Antitrust Act, the Federal Trade Commission Act or FTC Act and the Clayton Antitrust Act over in the United States for example... love them or hate them, they're an important part of the ecosystem in many jurisdictions :)
