Legal Definitions - Monopoly

A monopoly is when one business has a big advantage over all the other businesses in a certain area. This means that they can decide how much to charge for their products or services without worrying about competition. For example, if there was only one gas station in a town, they could charge a lot more for gas because people have no other choice. This is not fair to customers because they have to pay more than they should.

Antitrust laws are in place to prevent monopolies from happening because they can hurt consumers and other businesses. These laws make sure that there is competition in the market so that prices are fair and companies have to work hard to earn customers.

Another example of a monopoly is if there was only one internet provider in a certain area. They could charge a lot of money for slow internet because people have no other choice. This is not fair to customers because they need internet to do many things like work and school.