Nov 20, 2008

LG, Sharp and Chunghwa Fined $585 Million For LCD Price Fixing


After nearly three years of investigation, LG, Sharp and Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd have admitted to participating in a cartel between 2001 and 2006 that fixed prices of LCD screens affecting "millions of American consumers who use computers, cell phones and numerous other household electronics every day." The Justice Department has ordered the companies pony up $580 million in fines—$400 million from LG, $120 million from Sharp and $65 million from Chunghwa.

According to the Justice Department, these price fixing schemes specifically targeted TFT-LCD panels sold to Dell for their computers, Motorola for the Razr and Apple for the iPod. So, by screwing them they screwed us all.