antitrust legislation

1. Laws passed in the United States, especially between 1890 and 1915, to prevent large business corporations , called trusts , from combining into monopolies to restrict competition. The laws were instituted to encourage free enterprise . ( See also trust busting .)

Notes

The enforcement of antitrust laws has been inconsistent.

Although the Bell Telephone system was declared a monopoly and forced to break up, huge corporations continue to merge.