North Carolina State Bd of Dental Examiners v. FTC
Okay kiddo, so there are people called dentists who take care of our teeth, right? Well, in North Carolina, some of these dentists got together and decided they didn't like competition from people who weren't dentists but still offered teeth-whitening services. They made a rule that only licensed dentists could offer these services.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) didn't like this rule because it stopped competition, which is important to keep prices low for us customers. So they told the North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners (that's the group of dentists who made the rule) to stop it.
But the dentists didn't want to stop, so the FTC took them to court. The Supreme Court looked at the case and decided that the dentists were no longer just regular people making rules, but a group that controlled the market for teeth-whitening services. Because of this, they had to follow antitrust laws that say you can't use your power to hurt competition.
This means that the North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners couldn't just make a rule saying only licensed dentists can offer teeth-whitening services because it would hurt competition. And protecting competition is very important!
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) didn't like this rule because it stopped competition, which is important to keep prices low for us customers. So they told the North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners (that's the group of dentists who made the rule) to stop it.
But the dentists didn't want to stop, so the FTC took them to court. The Supreme Court looked at the case and decided that the dentists were no longer just regular people making rules, but a group that controlled the market for teeth-whitening services. Because of this, they had to follow antitrust laws that say you can't use your power to hurt competition.
This means that the North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners couldn't just make a rule saying only licensed dentists can offer teeth-whitening services because it would hurt competition. And protecting competition is very important!