Competitor complaints in anti-trust enforcement: Of Microsoft and mergers

Competition laws are intended to protect consumers but they can be twisted to serve the interests of competitors. Complaints by competitors can be useful in anti‐trust cases but, in general, anti‐trust agencies should be ‘deeply sceptical’ of such complaints which may reflect attempts to seek protection from a more efficient competitor. Both US and EU officials have not been sufficiently sceptical of complaints against Microsoft by its competitors: consumers will pay the price for this error.