Final answer:
Antitrust laws focus on preventing monopolies, ensuring competition, and prompting efficiency and innovation in the market. They allow regulating agencies like the Department of Justice and the FTC to intervene in mergers or business practices that could harm the competitive landscape. This concern extends to big tech companies, which command significant market power.
Step-by-step explanation:
Antitrust laws are concerned with large tech companies because they have the potential to become dominant in the market, which could lead to reduced competition. In the history of the U.S. economy, there have been instances where single firms had most of the sales in the entire country. These firms could leverage economies of scale to offer low prices but also had the power to increase prices and maintain higher profits without the need for efficiency or innovation, due to a lack of competition. This is viewed as harmful from an antitrust perspective.
The U.S. Department of Justice and the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) can block mergers or require divestitures to preserve competition. For example, when Johnson & Johnson acquired Pfizer's consumer health division, they were required to sell certain brands to keep the competitive environment healthy. This kind of regulation ensures that companies, including those in big tech, remain competitive rather than becoming monopolistic. The dynamic nature of the global market, where U.S. companies compete internationally, adds complexity to antitrust considerations.