Samsung is under investigation by Taiwanese authorities over allegations that it used deceptive advertising practices in the country, the AFP reports. The company reportedly hired students to write negative remarks online about HTC and to post promotional content for itself. Though it's unclear what the actual content of these messages was, in a statement provided to The Verge, Samsung said that its Taiwanese branch "has ceased all marketing activities that involve the posting of anonymous comments." It believes that the incident was an error due to insufficient training, and that it is not consistent with Samsung's policies.

The AFP reports that the online campaign occurred through a local advertising agency hired by Samsung Electronics Taiwan, and that Samsung could be fined up to NT$25 million ($835,000) if the allegations are upheld. Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission has already fined Samsung at least twice in the past year. The jointly owned company Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology was penalized for price fixing in September 2012 along with LG, Sony, and Philips, and earlier this year Samsung itself was fined around NT$300,000 ($7,670) for misleading advertising of one model of its Galaxy Y Duos.

Samsung's full statement on the incident is below: