ANTITRUST Economics Antitrust practices and market power: Technology, social networking sites, and anti-competitive behavior Q1.Why was/were the firm(s) investigated for antitrust behavior? IBM, AT&T, Microsoft, Intel, Google, Twitter, and Facebook are all technology companies that have been accused of operating as de facto and de jure monopolies: in other words, of engaging in blatant violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act or of substantially limiting market competition to such a degree that a monopoly has been

Antitrust Practice and Market Power Antitrust Practices and Market Power government promulgates antitrust law to prohibit unfair business practices in the United States and enhancing competitions within the U.S. marketplace. Several business practices are considered illegal under the antitrust law and these practices include illegal monopoly, price fixing, illegally discouraging competition, and bid rigging. For example, Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 prohibits monopolizing the interstate commerce, bid rigging, and price fixing. Moreover,

Antitrust Case Background One recent antitrust action has been between the United States Justice Department and the credit card companies. The government has argued that American Express has hindered competition in the credit card market. At issue are rules that AMEX imposes on retailers to prevent them from offering incentives to customers to use other cards (Longstreth, 2014). This is not the first time that credit card companies have faced antitrust action,

Antitrust Practices and Market Power It is important to realize the reason that Microsoft was investigated for possibly violating antitrust laws at the turn of the millennium. The company had established something of a natural monopoly of the software market (which is distinct from a government monopoly), and was leveraging its considerable market power to systematically eliminate its competition. It is legal to establish a monopoly in any given industry; yet

Microsoft Antitrust Case Antitrust Practices and Market Power Antitrust case: 2001 antitrust Microsoft settlement Microsoft Windows is such a ubiquitous piece of software, it is virtually impossible to imagine using a computer without it. Even though many people dislike the system, to function in contemporary life requires most students and workers to be familiar with the product. This lack of de facto choice has led Microsoft to become the subject of numerous antitrust

Antitrust Practices and Market Power The modern business environment is increasingly characterized by the proliferation of emerging monopolies in various industries. One of the industries that have experienced an increase in budding monopolies is Information Technology, particularly with the growth and development of social media and networks. Technology companies have rapidly developed into monopolies because of the connection between attractive business opportunities. The growth of leading technology companies into monopolies has