• Antitrust Laws and You
• How to File a Complaint
• How to Contact Us
• Confidentiality Policy and Privacy Policy
• Leniency Policies

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Antitrust Laws and You

Many consumers have never heard of antitrust laws, but when these laws are effectively and responsibly enforced, they can save consumers millions and even billions of dollars a year in illegal overcharges. Most states have antitrust laws, and so does the federal government. Essentially, these laws prohibit business practices that unreasonably deprive consumers of the benefits of competition, resulting in higher prices for inferior products and services.

There are three major federal antitrust laws: the Sherman Antitrust Act, the Clayton Act, and the Federal Trade Commission Act. The following information on these laws comes from the Antitrust Enforcement and the Consumer guide.

Sherman Antitrust Act

This Act expresses our national commitment to a free market economy in which competition free from private and governmental restraints leads to the best results for consumers. This Act outlaws all contracts, combinations, and conspiracies that unreasonably restrain interstate and foreign trade. This includes agreements among competitors to fix prices, rig bids, and allocate customers, which usually are punishable as criminal felonies.

The Sherman Act also makes it a crime to monopolize any part of interstate commerce. An unlawful monopoly exists when only one firm controls the market for a product or service, and it has obtained that market power, not because its product or service is superior to others, but by suppressing competition with anticompetitive conduct.

The Act, however, is not violated simply when one firm's vigorous competition and lower prices take sales from its less efficient competitors; in that case, competition is working properly.

The Clayton Act

This Act is a civil statute (carrying no criminal penalties) that prohibits mergers or acquisitions that are likely to lessen competition. Under this Act, the government challenges those mergers that careful economic analysis shows are likely to increase prices to consumers. All persons considering a merger or acquisition above a certain size must notify both the Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission. The Act also prohibits other business practices that may harm competition under certain circumstances.

The Federal Trade Commission Act

This Act prohibits unfair methods of competition in interstate commerce, but carries no criminal penalties. It also created the Federal Trade Commission to police violations of the Act.

The Department of Justice also often uses other laws to fight illegal activities, including laws that prohibit false statements to federal agencies, perjury, obstruction of justice, conspiracies to defraud the United States and mail and wire fraud. Each of these crimes carries its own fine and imprisonment term, which may be added to the fines and imprisonment terms for antitrust law violations.

Read more about the activities of the Antitrust Division:

• Antitrust Enforcement and the Consumer
• Price Fixing, Bid Rigging and Market Allocation Schemes: What They Are and What to Look For
• Overview of the Antitrust Division
• Antitrust Division Manual, Chapter 2: Statutory Provisions and Guidelines of the Antitrust Division.

How to File a Complaint

Information from the public is vital to the work of the Antitrust Division. Your e-mails, letters, and phone calls could be our first alert to a possible antitrust violation and may provide the initial evidence needed to begin an investigation.

The Antitrust Division's Citizen Complaint Center (CCC) facilitates communication of your concerns to the Division's legal staff. As the complaint intake center for the Antitrust Division, the CCC will create a record of the information you have provided and will preliminarily review your complaint for possible antitrust violations. If your complaint raises sufficient concern under the federal antitrust laws, the CCC will refer it to the appropriate Division section where additional research may lead to a formal investigation into the reported conduct. If Division staff decides to review your complaint further, you will likely be contacted within one month of filing your complaint.

If you have information about a possible antitrust violation or potential anticompetitive activity, please contact us by e-mail, regular mail, or phone. We recommend that you use the following questions as a guideline when describing your complaint:

• What are the names of companies, individuals, or organizations that are involved?

• How do you believe they have violated the antitrust laws?

• Can you give examples of the conduct that you believe violates the antitrust laws? If so, please provide as much detail as possible.

• What is the product or service affected by this conduct? Where is the product manufactured or sold, or where is the service provided?

• Who are the major competitors that sell the product or provide the service?

• What is your role in the situation in question?

• Who is harmed by the alleged violations? How are they harmed?

How to Contact Us

You can reach us with your complaint by e-mail, regular mail, or phone.

E-mail

antitrust.complaints@usdoj.gov

Mail

Citizen Complaint Center
Antitrust Division
950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Room 3322
Washington, DC 20530

Phone

1-888-647-3258 (toll free in the U.S. and Canada) or 202-307-2040

If you do not think your concerns involve the antitrust laws, you may want to visit the Department of Justice web page for more information or send an e-mail to AskDOJ@usdoj.gov.

Confidentiality Policy and Privacy Policy

Our Confidentiality Policy and Privacy Policy apply to all complaints received by the Antitrust Division.

Leniency Policies
Individuals or companies who (a) believe they may have been involved in criminal antitrust violations and (b) cooperate with the Antitrust Division may avoid prosecution if they meet the conditions of our individual or corporate leniency (amnesty) policies.