Everything’s Coming Up Milh—Oh, Wait ⇥ bloomberg.com

Samsung is already neck-deep in their patent fight with Apple, and now some serious allegations are being reported by Bloomberg:

Seven children younger than 16 were working in the factory of HEG Electronics (Huizhou) Co. that makes phones and DVD players for Samsung, according to the report issued yesterday. Child workers faced the “same harsh conditions” as adults and were paid only 70 percent of the wages of other workers, according to the New York-based group, which said it conducted investigations in June and July.

China Labor Watch previously published reports on explosions at factories and in 2010 accused Foxconn Technology Group, the assembler of Apple Inc. (AAPL) iPhones and iPads, of running a sweatshop in the country after a spate of suicides, a charge the Taiwanese company denied. The latest report said working conditions at HEG are “well below” those at Apple suppliers.

Mic Wright, writing for The Kernel, wonders why Samsung isn’t being scrutinized at the same level as, say, Apple:

It’s clear that the issues with Samsung run deeper than those raised by its legal fight with Apple. Yet while Apple is frequently upbraided in the press for conditions at its Chinese manufacturing partners’ factories and the environmental sustainability of its products, Samsung’s travails receive very little Western press.

Nobody is clean or innocent in this. But Samsung’s problems, corruption, and disregard for those that come into contact with them runs so deep that it’s hard to fathom.