Antitrust

Antitrust is a concept that stems out of the notion that there should be a way to promote equitable and healthy competition in the marketplace. In the United States, the first federal statute that prohibited activities that restricted interstate commerce and competition was the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. The act, passed during a time when many states had just passed their own antitrust laws, was broad in scope and prohibited attempts at monopolization of interstate trade or commerce. The act made such attempts a felony. Over the two decades that followed, the United States passed additional laws to ensure equitable competition and to prevent unfair trade practices. This entry reviews the Sherman Antitrust Act and then discusses several major antitrust cases involving the media.