Regulatory capture is a form of
political corruption that occurs when a
regulatory agency, created to act in the public interest, instead advances the commercial or political concerns of special
interest groups that dominate the industry or sector it is charged with regulating. Regulatory capture is a form of
government failure; it creates an opening for firms or political groups to behave in ways injurious to the public (e.g., producing
negative externalities). The agencies are called "captured agencies".