--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Antitrust law isn't about protecting…" description: "\"Antitrust law isn't about protecting competing businesses from each other, it's about protecting competition itself on behalf of the public.\" — Al Franken" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc5/al-franken-1407_antitrust_antitrust-law-isn-t-about-protecting-com_39753.png" --- # Antitrust law isn't about protecting competing businesses… ![“Antitrust law isn't about protecting competing businesses from each other, it's about protecting competition itself on behalf of the public.” quote by Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc5/al-franken-1407_antitrust_antitrust-law-isn-t-about-protecting-com_39753.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc5/al-franken-1407_antitrust_antitrust-law-isn-t-about-protecting-com_39753.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc5/al-franken-1407_antitrust_antitrust-law-isn-t-about-protecting-com_39753.png) > “Antitrust law isn't about protecting competing businesses from each other, it's about protecting competition itself on behalf of the public.” [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Antitrust law aims to preserve market competition for the public good, not merely to shield individual firms from rivals. **In simple terms:** Protects competition for public benefit. Key Takeaway Competition is a public asset. Themes law economics public policy competition regulation Mood critical analytical Type policy statement legal insight When to use this quote - regulating monopolies - preventing collusion - ensuring fair market entry - protecting consumer choice Key Concepts antitrust market dynamics consumer welfare Practical Applications - policy drafting - legal analysis Questions to Reflect On - How does competition benefit society? - What risks arise when competition is undermined? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Antitrust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antitrust/) [Antitrust Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antitrust-law-452347/) [Antitrust laws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antitrust-laws/) [Behalf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behalf/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Competing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competing/) [Competing Businesses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competing-businesses-452349/) [Competition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competition/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Protecting Competing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protecting-competing-452348/) [Protecting Competition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protecting-competition-452346/) ## Related quotes > [Most Americans don't think about antitrust law when they look at their cable bill, flip channels on TV, or worry about what their favorite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/most-americans-don-t-think-about-antitrust-law-when-they-look-at/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [The 10 largest antitrust law firms in the United States have gone into the federal courts charging Monsanto with creating a global conspiracy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-rifkin/the-10-largest-antitrust-law-firms-in-the-united-states-have-gone/) [Jeremy Rifkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-rifkin/) > [“What made Bell Labs fundamentally different had as much to do with antitrust law as the geniuses it attracted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-johnson/what-made-bell-labs-fundamentally-different-had-as-much-to-do-with/) [Steven Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-johnson/) > [Under the Constitution, federal law trumps both state and city law. But antitrust law allows states some exceptional leeway to adopt anticompetitive business regulations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-ammori/under-the-constitution-federal-law-trumps-both-state-and-city-law-but/) [Marvin Ammori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-ammori/) > [Regardless of the industry, antitrust law is meant to benefit consumers - not competitors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-ammori/regardless-of-the-industry-antitrust-law-is-meant-to-benefit/) [Marvin Ammori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-ammori/) > [Existing antitrust law in the United States addresses mainly the harm from price gouging, not the other kinds of harm caused by these platforms,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-romer/existing-antitrust-law-in-the-united-states-addresses-mainly-the-harm/) [Paul Romer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-romer/) > [So, the antitrust laws in the United States don't create some kind of cap on a company's size or on growth; they really distinguish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lina-khan/so-the-antitrust-laws-in-the-united-states-don-t-create-some-kind-of/) [Lina Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lina-khan/) > [Why should antitrust laws be used to block mergers that the market, by the existence of willing buyers and sellers, shows to be desirable?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-manne/why-should-antitrust-laws-be-used-to-block-mergers-that-the-market-by/) [Henry Manne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-manne/) > [As freak legislation, the antitrust laws stand alone. Nobody knows what it is they forbid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-paterson/as-freak-legislation-the-antitrust-laws-stand-alone-nobody-knows-what/) [Isabel Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-paterson/) > [It's time to use the antitrust laws and to break up this conglomerate corporate media that has now poisoned our democracy to the point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/it-s-time-to-use-the-antitrust-laws-and-to-break-up-this-conglomerate/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Antitrust laws ought to be deployed, not against business, but to bust this two-party monopoly, which subverts competition in government and rewards the colluding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilana-mercer/antitrust-laws-ought-to-be-deployed-not-against-business-but-to-bust/) [Ilana Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilana-mercer/) > [There are probably deal-makers out there who wish we didn't have the antitrust laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lina-khan/there-are-probably-deal-makers-out-there-who-wish-we-didn-t-have-the/) [Lina Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lina-khan/) > [Laws reflect values. Antitrust laws used to reflect one set of values, and then there was a change in values that led us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lina-khan/laws-reflect-values-antitrust-laws-used-to-reflect-one-set-of-values/) [Lina Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lina-khan/) > [To go all the way back, lawmakers passed the antitrust laws because they wanted to favor competition over consolidation, the basic idea being that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lina-khan/to-go-all-the-way-back-lawmakers-passed-the-antitrust-laws-because/) [Lina Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lina-khan/) > [If we want a healthier, more diverse market - and more variety in our Halloween buckets - we could start by reviving some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lina-khan/if-we-want-a-healthier-more-diverse-market-and-more-variety-in-our/) [Lina Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lina-khan/) ## More by Al Franken > [I want to reclaim 'liberal.' I'm a liberal, and I think most Americans are liberals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/i-want-to-reclaim-liberal-i-m-a-liberal-and-i-think-most-americans/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [“The Democratic Senator’s Serenity Prayer God Grant Me the Serenity to Accept the Things I Cannot Legislate The Courage to Legislate the Things I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/the-democratic-senator-s-serenity-prayer-god-grant-me-the-serenity-to/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [I'm for Israel's right to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/i-m-for-israel-s-right-to-exist/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [You have to love your country like an adult loves somebody, not like a child loves its mommy. And right-wing Republicans tend to love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/you-have-to-love-your-country-like-an-adult-loves-somebody-not-like-a/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [Putin has had many positive experiences working with Western political leaders whose business interests made them more disposed to deal with Russia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/putin-has-had-many-positive-experiences-working-with-western/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [I'm crushed by the responsibility of writing a satirical book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/i-m-crushed-by-the-responsibility-of-writing-a-satirical-book/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [“right wing’s most common techniques—including the deceptive use of statistics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/right-wing-s-most-common-techniques-including-the-deceptive-use-of/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [I know I have an awful lot to learn from the people of Minnesota.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/i-know-i-have-an-awful-lot-to-learn-from-the-people-of-minnesota/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [Apple has long been a leading innovator of mobile technology; I myself own an iPhone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/apple-has-long-been-a-leading-innovator-of-mobile-technology-i-myself/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [I am a Minnesotan, and not just because I root for the Vikings and the Twins. I like the Minnesota-nice sensibility. I like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/i-am-a-minnesotan-and-not-just-because-i-root-for-the-vikings-and-the/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [My dad didn't graduate from high school, ended up being a printing salesman, probably never made more than $8,000 a year. My mom sold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/my-dad-didn-t-graduate-from-high-school-ended-up-being-a-printing/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [“As the polls began closing in the East, with states like New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Virginia going for Barack Obama, it was quickly becoming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/as-the-polls-began-closing-in-the-east-with-states-like-new-hampshire/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [Net neutrality isn't a government takeover of the Internet, as many of my Republican colleagues have alleged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/net-neutrality-isn-t-a-government-takeover-of-the-internet-as-many-of/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [Demagoguery sells. And therefore, radio stations will put it on. But that doesn't mean that you can't do something else and also make it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/demagoguery-sells-and-therefore-radio-stations-will-put-it-on-but/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [If I put myself on the ballot and even 50 people voted for me, it'd be a travesty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/if-i-put-myself-on-the-ballot-and-even-50-people-voted-for-me-it-d-be/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) [Explore all 245 Al Franken quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) ## More Antitrust quotes > [Antitrust is really about making sure that companies are succeeding by competing on the merits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lina-khan/antitrust-is-really-about-making-sure-that-companies-are-succeeding/) [Lina Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lina-khan/) > [This antitrust thing will blow over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/this-antitrust-thing-will-blow-over/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [There's no doubt we need stronger antitrust enforcement. We shouldn't allow Amazon to privilege its own products on its platform, and we should make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ro-khanna/there-s-no-doubt-we-need-stronger-antitrust-enforcement-we-shouldn-t/) [Ro Khanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ro-khanna/) > [When I applied to law school, I wrote on my application that I wanted to do two things. One was to solve antitrust law's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lubetzky/when-i-applied-to-law-school-i-wrote-on-my-application-that-i-wanted/) [Daniel Lubetzky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lubetzky/) > [If we want a healthier, more diverse market - and more variety in our Halloween buckets - we could start by reviving some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lina-khan/if-we-want-a-healthier-more-diverse-market-and-more-variety-in-our/) [Lina Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lina-khan/) > [A competitive threat is not the same thing as an antitrust violation… It is difficult to make out FairSearch’s precise antitrust arguments. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gallagher/a-competitive-threat-is-not-the-same-thing-as-an-antitrust-violation/) [Peter Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gallagher/) > [ Like IBM, the company \[Microsoft\] seems to have been spooked by the federal antitrust action against it and became increasingly sclerotic and less inventive. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-manes/like-ibm-the-company-microsoft-seems-to-have-been-spooked-by-the/) [Stephen Manes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-manes/) > [You can take this as a gentle word of warning, if you like. We are just at the beginning of a period of more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neelie-kroes/you-can-take-this-as-a-gentle-word-of-warning-if-you-like-we-are-just/) [Neelie Kroes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neelie-kroes/) > [We can speculate on what's likely, but what's needed is an investigation. And speculation is no substitute for facts. As a former prosecutor, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-blumenthal/we-can-speculate-on-what-s-likely-but-what-s-needed-is-an/) [Richard Blumenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-blumenthal/) > [The federal government has shown little willingness to stand up to corporate monopolies, and use its powers under the existing antitrust statutes, including the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zephyr-teachout/the-federal-government-has-shown-little-willingness-to-stand-up-to/) [Zephyr Teachout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zephyr-teachout/) > [To go all the way back, lawmakers passed the antitrust laws because they wanted to favor competition over consolidation, the basic idea being that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lina-khan/to-go-all-the-way-back-lawmakers-passed-the-antitrust-laws-because/) [Lina Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lina-khan/) > [My current goal is to change the way we think about antitrust and anti-monopoly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zephyr-teachout/my-current-goal-is-to-change-the-way-we-think-about-antitrust-and/) [Zephyr Teachout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zephyr-teachout/) > [Beware of that profound enemy of the free enterprise system who pays lip-service to free competition, but also labels every antitrust prosecution as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/beware-of-that-profound-enemy-of-the-free-enterprise-system-who-pays/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [The testimony and the documentary evidence produced by the Government demonstrate that the Bell System had violated the antitrust laws in a number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-h-greene/the-testimony-and-the-documentary-evidence-produced-by-the-government/) [Harold H. Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-h-greene/) > [From our perspective, as an antitrust enforcer, we're supposed to protect competition in all markets. That includes labor markets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lina-khan/from-our-perspective-as-an-antitrust-enforcer-we-re-supposed-to/) [Lina Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lina-khan/) [Browse all 56 Antitrust quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antitrust/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Antitrust law isn't about protecting competing businesses from each other, it's about protecting competition itself on behalf of the public.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Al Franken" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/antitrust-law-isn-t-about-protecting-competing-businesses-from-each/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Antitrust" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/antitrust-law-isn-t-about-protecting-competing-businesses-from-each/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc5/al-franken-1407_antitrust_antitrust-law-isn-t-about-protecting-com_39753.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc5/al-franken-1407_antitrust_antitrust-law-isn-t-about-protecting-com_39753.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc5/al-franken-1407_antitrust_antitrust-law-isn-t-about-protecting-com_39753.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Antitrust law isn't about protecting competing businesses from each other, it's about protecting competition…” — Al Franken", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Al Franken", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Antitrust law isn't about protecting competing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/antitrust-law-isn-t-about-protecting-competing-businesses-from-each/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/antitrust-law-isn-t-about-protecting-competing-businesses-from-each/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```