LEG 500 Week 8 discussion

In today’s economy, there are powerful companies who in all appearances control massive segments of different markets.  Using the NEXIS-Uni Legal Database or the FTC website below, research and provide one company and case in the last five years that has been sued for anti-competitive behavior.  Explain why the activity is anti-competitive and whether it is a horizontal restraint of trade or a vertical restraint of trade. Explain.  (Please do NOT write on Amazon, Google, Facebook, Qualcomm, Samsung, or Apple - try to find a local company in your home state).  Nexis-Uni link: https://libdatab.strayer.edu/login?url=https://www.nexisuni.com  or

Cases and Proceedings | Federal Trade Commission (ftc.gov)

 

A company that has been sued for anti-competitive behavior in the last five years is the New York-based company, 1-800 Contacts. In 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) accused 1-800 Contacts of using anticompetitive tactics to limit competition in the online contact lens market. The FTC alleged that 1-800 Contacts entered into agreements with rival companies, such as Acuvue, Alcon, Bausch & Lomb, and CooperVision, to prevent them from bidding on certain trademarked keywords in online search advertising auctions. The use of these keywords, according to the FTC, would have allowed these competitors to appear more prominently in online search results and provide consumers with more choices.

This activity is anti-competitive because it limits consumer choice and undermines the competitive marketplace. By prohibiting rival companies from bidding on specific keywords, 1-800 Contacts effectively blocked these companies from competing for online search traffic and prevented consumers from seeing alternative options. This type of behavior is a horizontal restraint of trade, as it involves agreements between competing companies that limit competition and harm consumers.