“Fair-trade officials in Taiwan are looking into reports that Samsung paid people to criticise rival HTC online,” BBC News reports. “Samsung is alleged to have hired students to post negative comments about phones made by Taiwan’s HTC.”
“If found guilty of engaging in “false advertising”, Samsung and its local agent could face fines of up to of 25m Taiwanese dollars (£547,000),” The Beeb reports. “Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission had begun an investigation after receiving a series of complaints, a spokesman told the AFP news agency.”
The Beeb reports, “A local website had published documents appearing to show Samsung had been recruiting students to criticise HTC and praise Samsung anonymously on the web, reported PC Advisor. Samsung Taiwan said it had not been told about the investigation, however the subsidiary put a statement on its local Facebook page saying it had ‘ceased all marketing activities that involve the posting of anonymous comments.'”
Read more in the full article here.
Michael Kan reports for PC Advisor, “The investigation occurs after a local site, called TaiwanSamsungLeaks, accused the South Korean company of “evil marketing” for covertly criticizing rival products through anonymous Internet users. As evidence, the site published documents allegedly from Samsung’s hired marketing firm cataloguing the different forum posts it made last year on local gadget sites.”
“The topics covered included a user complaining that his girlfriend’s HTC One X phone was constantly crashing, and how Samsung’s Galaxy Note phone was superior to HTC’s Sensation XL handset,” Kan reports.
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We don’t call them Samscum for nothing.
Don’t buy products from morally bankrupt filth.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews readers too numerous to mention individually for the heads up.]
Related articles:
Samsung office searched by police over alleged technology theft – April 12, 2013
Samsung’s new ‘Wallet’ bears striking resemblance to Apple’s Passbook – February 27, 2013
Korea JoongAng Daily: Samsung must stop slavishly copying Apple – September 3, 2012
South Korea reassesses its great imitator, Samsung – September 2, 2012
Convicted patent infringer Samsung acuses Apple of trying to limit consumer choice – September 1, 2012
Is Samsung copying Apple’s patented earphones? It sure looks like it – September 8, 2012
Samsung mimics Apple product videos in Galaxy S III promo (with video) – August 24, 2012
Now slavish copycat Samsung attempts to knockoff Apple’s retail stores (with video) – August 23, 2012
Samsung: Shameless slavish copiers – August 13, 2012
Apple attorney: Instead of innovating, Samsung chose to copy iPhone and iPad – July 31, 2012
Apple: Google warned Samsung against slavishly copying our products – July 25, 2012
Now Samsung slavishly copies Apple’s Mac mini – June 1, 2012
Samsung Mobile chief ‘designer’ denies that Samsung’s instinct is to slavishly copy Apple – March 23, 2012
Slavish copier Samsung shamelessly steals Apple’s iPhone 3G design – again – January 3, 2012
Slavish copier Samsung uses girl actress from iPhone 4S ad for Galaxy Tab 8.9 spot (with video) – January 2, 2012
Now Samsung’s slavishly copying Apple’s iPad television ads (with videos) – December 30, 2011
Judge: Can you tell me which is iPad and which is yours? Samsung lawyer: ‘Not at this distance your honor’ – October 14, 2011
Why are Apple’s icons on the wall of Samsung’s store? – September 24, 2011
Apple to Samsung: ‘Blatant copying is wrong’ – April 18, 2011
Apple sues Samsung for attempting to copy look and feel of iPhone, iPad – April 18, 2011
Samsung’s ‘Instinct’ is obviously to make Apple iPhone knockoffs – April 1, 2008