The consumer defense association UFC-Que Choisir filed a complaint Thursday against the South Korean electronics giant Samsung and its French subsidiary before the Paris Judicial Court for "
deceptive commercial practices
", she announced in a statement.
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According to UFC, the social responsibility policy displayed by the South Korean brand on its website for French consumers, in which Samsung claims to “
defend responsible management
” throughout the supply chain, “
turns out to be a mirror with larks
”.
Decried working conditions
The association relies in particular on the "
overwhelming findings of NGOs and journalists
" on Samsung suppliers, making their workforce work in "
inhuman
"
conditions
.
Among these observations, "
child labor in cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, hellish work rates in China and suspicion of forced labor by an ethnic minority, the exposure of workers to toxic chemicals. in South Korea,
”she says.
This complaint follows a first, filed in 2018 at the initiative of two NGOs, Sherpa and ActionAid-Peuples solidaires, which in April 2019 led to an indictment of the French subsidiary of Samsung for “
deceptive commercial practices
”.
"
This is the first time in France that it is recognized that the ethical commitments made by a company are likely to constitute commercial practices which, as such, bind their issuer
", the NGOs had welcomed in a press release.
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On its website, Samsung ensures "
demand
" that "
international standards and regulations be applied in the field of human rights management
", according to the screenshots posted by UFC-Que Choisir.
In order to legitimize criminal proceedings in France, the NGOs Sherpa and ActionAid-Peuples solidaires considered sufficient that the incriminated message be accessible in France and therefore to French consumers for the French courts to be competent.