Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron Are Being Sued for "Fixing"
A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron, accusing the three major DRAM manufacturers of colluding to fix prices and artificially restrict supply, leading to higher costs for consumers.
Background
- Samsung, SK Hynix (South Korean), and Micron (US) together control roughly 95% of the global market for DRAM chips — the temporary memory used in PCs, servers, and smartphones.
- A proposed class-action lawsuit alleges that from 2016 to 2018, the three companies colluded (price-fixing) to restrict supply, causing DRAM prices to spike more than 130%. This made electronics and cloud services more expensive.
- The three firms were previously investigated and fined by regulators in the US, EU, China, and South Korea for similar behaviour, including a 2010 DOJ probe that led to a $300+ million fine against Samsung and Hynix and prison sentences for executives.
- The case is filed in California federal court on behalf of US consumers and businesses that bought DRAM-containing products; it echoes earlier DRAM price-fixing lawsuits from the 2000s.