Editing Price fixing (section)

==Examples==

=== Compact discs ===
{{main article|CD price fixing}}

Between 1995 and 2000, music companies were found to have used illegal marketing agreements such as [[resale price maintenance|minimum advertised pricing]] to artificially inflate prices of [[compact disc]]s in order to end price wars by discounters such as [[Best Buy]] and [[Target Corporation|Target]] in the early 1990s. It is estimated customers were overcharged by nearly $500 million and up to $5 per album. A settlement in 2002 included the music publishers and distributors; [[Sony Music Entertainment|Sony Music]], [[Warner Music Group|Warner Music]], [[Bertelsmann Music Group]], [[EMI|EMI Music]], [[Universal Music Group|Universal Music]] as well as retailers [[Musicland]], [[Trans World Entertainment]] and [[Tower Records (music retailer)|Tower Records]]. In restitution for price fixing they agreed to pay a $67.4 million fine distribute $75.7 million in CDs to public and non-profit groups.

=== Dynamic random access memory (DRAM) ===
{{main article|DRAM price fixing}}
In October 2005, the [[Korea]]n company [[Samsung]] pleaded guilty to conspiring with other companies, including [[Infineon]] and [[Hynix Semiconductor]], to fix the price of dynamic random access memory ([[DRAM]]) chips. Samsung was the third company to be charged in connection with the international cartel and was fined $300 million, the second largest antitrust penalty in US history.

In October 2004, four executives from Infineon, a German chip maker, received reduced sentences of 4 to 6 months in federal prison and $250,000 in fines after agreeing to aid the [[U.S. Department of Justice]] with their ongoing investigation of the conspiracy.

=== Capacitors ===
In March 2018, the [[European Commission]] fined eight firms, mostly Japanese companies, €254 million for operating an illegal price cartel for [[capacitors]].<ref name=jpcapactiros>{{cite news|last1=JiJi|title=EU fines Japanese firms over price-fixing cartel for capacitors|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/03/22/business/eu-fines-japanese-firms-price-fixing-cartel-capacitors|access-date=22 March 2018|work=[[The Japan Times]]|date=March 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322124609/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/03/22/business/eu-fines-japanese-firms-price-fixing-cartel-capacitors/#.WrOlqnbP1PY|archive-date=March 22, 2018|location=Brussels}}</ref> The two largest players were [[Nippon Chemi-Con]] which was fined €98 million and [[Hitachi]] Chemical which was fined €18 million.<ref name=jpcapactiros />

=== Perfume ===
In 2006, the [[Cabinet of France|government of France]] fined 13 [[perfume]] brands and three vendors for price collusion between 1997 and 2000. The brands include [[L'Oréal]] (€4.1 million), [[Chanel]] (€3.0 million), [[LVMH]]'s [[Sephora]] (€9.4 million), and [[Hutchison Whampoa]]'s ''Marionnaud'' (€12.8 million).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB114238994783198532|title=France Fines Perfume Makers And Vendors in Price-Fixing Case|last=Passariello|first=Christina|date=March 15, 2006|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|access-date=January 20, 2023|location=Paris}}</ref>

=== Liquid crystal displays ===
In 2008 in the US, [[LG Display Co.]], Chunghwa Picture Tubes and [[Sharp Corp.]], agreed to plead guilty and pay $585 million in criminal fines<ref>{{cite news|url=https://money.cnn.com/2008/11/12/news/international/pricefixing/index.htm|work=[[CNN]]|last=Frieden|first=Terry|title=$585 million LCD price-fixing fine|date=November 12, 2008|access-date=January 20, 2023|location=Washington, D.C.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/archive/opa/pr/2008/November/08-at-1002.html|title=LG, Sharp, Chunghwa Agree to Plead Guilty, Pay Total of $585 Million in Fines for Participating in LCD Price-fixing Conspiracies|website=justice.gov|publisher=[[United States Department of Justice]]|access-date=January 20, 2023|location=Washington, D.C.}}</ref> for conspiring to fix prices of [[liquid crystal display]] panels.

South Korea–based [[LG Display]] would pay $400 million, the second-highest criminal fine that the [[United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division|US Justice Department antitrust division]] has ever imposed. Chunghwa would pay $65 million for conspiring with LG Display and other unnamed companies and Sharp would pay $120 million, according to the department.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aP1P0CBFZssE&refer=asia|work=[[Bloomberg News]]|last=Bliss|first=Jeff|title=LCD Makers Will Plead Guilty in Price-Fixing Scheme (Update2)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023082042/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aP1P0CBFZssE&refer=asia|archive-date=October 23, 2012|date=November 12, 2008|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/lcd-doj-idUKN1246651020081112|title=UPDATE 2-LG Display, Sharp, Chunghwa say guilty in LCD case|work=[[Reuters]]|date=November 12, 2023|access-date=January 20, 2023}}</ref>

In 2010, the [[EU]] fined LG Display €215 million for its part in the [[LCD]] price fixing scheme.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-08/six-lcd-panel-makers-fined-649-million-by-european-union-for-price-fixing.html|title=LCD-Panel Makers Fined $649 Million by European Union for Price Fixing|last=White|first=Aoife|publisher=[[Bloomberg News]]|date=December 8, 2010|access-date=January 20, 2023|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Other companies were fined for a combined total of €648.9 million, including [[Chimei Innolux Corporation|Chimei Innolux]], [[AU Optronics]], Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd., and [[HannStar Display Corporation|HannStar Display Corp.]]<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/SPEECH_10_736|title=Joaquín Almunia Vice President of the European Commission responsible for Competition Policy Press conference on LCD cartel, Visa and French chemists' association decisions Press conference Brussels, 8 December 2010|date=December 8, 2010|website=europa.eu|publisher=[[European Commission]]|access-date=January 20, 2023}}</ref> LG Display said it is considering appealing the fine.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/tech/2010/12/133_77753.html|title=2 LCD giants face contrasting fates|newspaper=[[The Korea Times]]|last=Kim|first=Yoo-chul|date=December 9, 2010|access-date=January 20, 2023}}</ref>{{update needed|date=February 2025}}

=== Air cargo market ===
In late 2005/early 2006, [[Lufthansa]] and [[Virgin Atlantic]] came forward about their involvement in large price-fixing schemes for cargo and passenger surcharges in which 21 airlines were involved since 2000 (amongst which were [[British Airways]], [[Korean Air]], and [[Air France-KLM]]). [[U.S. Department of Justice]] fined the airlines a total of $1.7 billion, charged 19 executives with wrongdoing and four received prison terms.<ref>{{cite news|last=Caldwell|first=Alicia A.|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/41926712 |title=21 airlines fined in price-fixing scheme|publisher=[[NBC News]]|date=March 5, 2011|access-date=January 20, 2023}}{{dead link|date=August 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

In December 2008, the [[Commerce Commission|New Zealand Commerce Commission]] filed legal proceedings against 13 airlines in the [[New Zealand High Court]]. According to the Commission, the carriers "colluded to raise the price of [freight] by imposing fuel charges for more than seven years".<ref name="Commerce Commission">{{cite press release|url=http://www.comcom.govt.nz/BusinessCompetition/Anti-competitivePractices/commercecommissionprocedureinaccor.aspx|title=Commerce Commission procedure in accordance with standard best practice|date=March 20, 2009|work=Release no 113|publisher=[[Commerce Commission]]|access-date=June 23, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090906183007/http://www.comcom.govt.nz/BusinessCompetition/Anti-competitivePractices/commercecommissionprocedureinaccor.aspx|archive-date=September 6, 2009}}</ref> In 2013 [[Air New Zealand]] was the final airline of the 13 to settle.<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.comcom.govt.nz/the-commission/media-centre/media-releases/detail/2013/air-new-zealand-final-airline-to-settle-with-commerce-commission-in-air-cargo-case|title=Air New Zealand final airline to settle with Commerce Commission in air cargo case|publisher=[[Commerce Commission]]|date=June 13, 2013|access-date=June 23, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141003141705/http://www.comcom.govt.nz/the-commission/media-centre/media-releases/detail/2013/air-new-zealand-final-airline-to-settle-with-commerce-commission-in-air-cargo-case|archive-date=October 3, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Commission noted that it might involve up to 60 airlines.<ref name="CC Dec 08">{{cite press release|url=https://comcom.govt.nz/case-register/case-register-entries/cargolux-airlines-international-sa/media-releases/international-air-cargo-cartel-to-be-prosecuted|title=International air cargo cartel to be prosecuted|date=December 15, 2008|publisher=[[Commerce Commission]]|access-date=June 23, 2014}}</ref> In 2009 the Commission said overseas competition authorities were also investigating the [[air cargo]] market, including the US and Australia where fines had been imposed.<ref name="Commerce Commission"/>

=== Tuna ===
An attempt to fix the price of tuna resulted in a $25 million fine for [[Bumble Bee Foods]] in 2017 and a $100 million fine for [[StarKist]] in 2020. Christopher Lischewski, the former CEO of Bumble Bee, was sentenced to 40 months in jail and fined $100,000 for his 2010–2013 involvement.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Garcia|first=Sandra E.|date=June 16, 2020|title=Former Bumble Bee C.E.O. Is Sentenced in Tuna Price-Fixing Scheme|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/16/business/bumble-bee-tuna-price-fixing.html|access-date=January 20, 2023|issn=0362-4331|url-access=limited}}</ref>

===Coronavirus vaccine===
During the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], companies such as [[Pfizer]] and [[Moderna]] announced rates for their coronavirus vaccines that would differ based on deals established with various governments. Executive orders were enacted in the United States to lower prescription drug costs which was claimed by Pfizer's CEO to cause "enormous destruction" to the pharmaceutical industry.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/28/pfizer-ceo-says-trumps-executive-orders-overhauling-us-drug-pricing-will-cause-enormous-destruction.html|title=Pfizer CEO says Trump's executive orders overhauling U.S. drug pricing will upend the industry|date=July 28, 2020|publisher=[[CNBC]]|last=Lovelace Jr.|first=Berkeley|access-date=January 20, 2023}}</ref>

=== 1990s airlines ===
Airlines in the 1990's were blocked by the [[United States Department of Justice|US Department of Justice]] from continuing to use software to share data on routes and prices before they became public.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last1=Vogell |first1=Heather |last2=Coryne |first2=Haru |last3=Little |first3=Ryan |date=2022-10-15 |title=Rent Going Up? One Company's Algorithm Could Be Why. |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/yieldstar-rent-increase-realpage-rent |access-date=2024-08-21 |website=ProPublica |language=en}}</ref>

=== Rent algorithm ===
''[[ProPublica]]'' in 2022 investigated the use of algorithms created by [[RealPage]] by rental companies across the United States to set rents, which critics worry has helped to raise rents by limiting competition.<ref name=":1" /> The US DOJ escalated its investigation into price-fixing in March of 2024,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sisco |first=Josh |date=March 20, 2024 |title=DOJ escalates price-fixing probe on housing market |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/20/rental-housing-market-doj-investigation-00147333 |work=Politico}}</ref> and filed an [[United States antitrust law|anti-trust]] lawsuit in August of 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vogell |first=Heather |date=2024-08-23 |title=DOJ Files Antitrust Suit Against Maker of Rent-Setting Algorithm |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/realpage-lawsuit-doj-antitrustdoj-files-antitrust-suit-against-maker-of-rent-setting-algorithm |access-date=2024-08-24 |website=ProPublica |language=en}}</ref>