Samsung smartphones to pay for fake comments against HTC - Golem.de

Samsung has been convicted of a competition authority to pay a penalty. The company has to pay for an classified as anti-competitive Internet campaign against HTC: students were paid to post negative comments on HTC devices.

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Samsung has performed in April 2013 in chinese forums, an internet campaign against HTC, which has been classified by the Taiwanese competition authorities as anti-competitive. Therefore, the company must now pay a penalty is to be read as the website of the Taiwanese competition authorities. Samsung also must refrain from anti-competitive behavior.

10 million Taiwan dollars to pay Samsung, the equivalent of almost 250,000 euros. For a company like Samsung is not the problematical large sum, but the loss of reputation is likely to be significant.

Taiwanese competition authorities see it as proven that Samsung has paid among other students and future employees for their comments on forums negatively about competitors. Thus, to be published on HTC devices in many Chinese forums fake negative comments. Conversely, there was devised favorable comments relating to Samsung products. Such comments were controlled now classified as anticompetitive.

Samsung has hired marketing firms

Campaign Samsung has turned two marketing companies, which now also both have to pay a fine. This fall, however, much lower than the total for Samsung. The two companies are in the authorities documents in Pinyin, the romanization in use in mainland China.

Thus

is a Pengtai Consulting Ltd.. and the second Shangduoli International Ltd. So Pengtai Consulting must pay 3 million Taiwan dollars, that are the equivalent of nearly 75,000 euros. Shangduoli International has paid only 50,000 Taiwan dollars, or just 1,300 euros.

Samsung for some time now the undisputed market leader in the smartphone market, and in particular because of the Android smartphone segment. On the other hand HTC can currently do very little and was not seen since the five largest manufacturers.

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