Samsung Challenges India’s Antitrust Probe, Accuses Watchdog of Illegally Seizing Data
Samsung has filed a legal challenge against India’s Competition Commission (CCI), accusing it of unlawfully detaining its employees and seizing data during a raid linked to an antitrust investigation involving Amazon and Flipkart. The South Korean tech giant’s filing, submitted on October 11 to the High Court in Chandigarh, seeks to quash findings that Samsung and other smartphone companies colluded with the e-commerce giants to launch exclusive products online.
In its 32-page filing, Samsung claims that three of its employees were detained by CCI officials during the 2022 raid on one of Amazon’s vendors. The company alleges that the employees’ phones were seized, and confidential and privileged data was copied during the search. Samsung argues that the entire operation was illegal and that any material collected should be returned, and not used in the investigation.
The company has obtained a court injunction that halts the CCI’s proceedings, but the court has yet to rule on whether the seized data should be returned or excluded from the investigation. Meanwhile, the CCI has challenged similar injunctions obtained by other companies involved in the case and has requested the Supreme Court to address all challenges together.
The investigation found that Amazon and Flipkart had violated competition laws by favoring select sellers on their platforms. Samsung, which had been cooperating as a third-party in the case, disputes its involvement in any wrongdoing, particularly in relation to exclusive product launches with Amazon and Flipkart, a practice the CCI deems anti-competitive.
Samsung is one of India’s top smartphone players, with a 14% market share. The growing dominance of online sales, now accounting for 50% of phone sales in India, is adding legal and compliance challenges for companies like Samsung.
