The three major memory chip manufacturers—Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron—are facing a class action lawsuit in the United States.

The plaintiffs claim that these three companies, which account for 90% of the global DRAM market, abused their oligopolistic position to manipulate supply and engage in price-fixing, leading to consumer harm such as price hikes for products like the Apple iPad.

According to the technology news outlet Wccftech, three small-to-medium PC assembly and distribution firms, including U.S.-based JB Tech Solutions, along with 14 American consumers, filed the class action lawsuit in a California federal court on June 25. They are seeking damages from Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron for alleged collusion and price manipulation.

The plaintiffs argue that these companies leveraged their dominant market position to control supply and fix prices.

They further claim that the three firms focused their production facilities on high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for AI rather than DRAM for general consumers, causing an artificial supply shortage. They allege that this has led to a roughly 700% surge in the price of consumer-grade memory over the past four years.

As a result, they argue that consumers have suffered financial harm due to the subsequent price increases in electronic devices such as Apple MacBooks and iPads.

As evidence, they pointed to the fact that Apple recently raised the prices of its iPads and MacBooks by 20%.

They also cited Micron’s decision last December to phase out its consumer memory brand, Crucial, as evidence of collusion.

At the time, Micron made the decision to phase out the relatively less profitable consumer business to meet the skyrocketing demand for high-value AI-related memory.

It is reported that the plaintiffs also mentioned the history of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix being indicted and convicted by the U.S. Department of Justice for price-fixing in the 2000s, claiming there is a recurring pattern of collusion.

Reported by Kim Min-jung | Video by Seo Byeong-wook | Graphics by Yook Do-hyun | Produced by SBS Digital News