US federal court rules in favor of Apple, Google over Congo child labor accusations

Back in November 2023, Tim Cook paid a visit to Dua Lipa’s podcast (on a side note: is there anyone without a podcast these days?!) and in it, the two of them talked for 45 minutes, discussing many things. Like: Tim Cook’s personal life, his career at Apple, philanthropy, the excessive use of smartphones, and… child labor.

Tim Cook assured Dua Lipa that children are not mining cobalt in Congo when she asked, “I was wondering is, my new iPhone 15… can you guarantee that the cobalt in that phone has not been mined using child labor in the Democratic Republic of Congo?”

He first went on to explain that Apple is more and more involved in the practice of using recycled materials for their devices, so new mining is needed less and less. Then he added: “But for those products that we still do mine, for some of our other products, we have an intense level of tracing in our supply chain all the way back to the mine and the smelter to make sure that the labor used is not child labor”.

Now, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia refused to hold five major technology companies liable over their alleged support for the use of child labor in cobalt mining operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (via Reuters).

In a 3-0 decision, the federal appeals court ruled in favor of Alphabet (Google’s parent company), Apple, Dell Technologies, Microsoft and Tesla, thus rejecting an appeal by former child miners and their representatives.

The plaintiffs accused the five companies of joining suppliers in a “forced labor” venture by purchasing cobalt, which is used to make lithium-ion batteries that are widely used in the everyday gadgets we use. Nearly two-thirds of the world's cobalt comes from the DRC.

According to the complaint, the companies “deliberately obscured” their dependence on child labor, including many children pressured into work by hunger and extreme poverty, to ensure their growing need for the metal would be met.

The lawsuit involved 16 plaintiffs, including the families of five children who died working in cobalt mines. However, the appeals court ruled that purchasing cobalt does not constitute “participation in a venture” under the law aimed at protecting against human trafficking and forced labor. Circuit Judge Neomi Rao acknowledged the plaintiffs' right to claim damages but indicated they failed to prove the five companies involved had any direct control over their suppliers or the ability to eliminate child labor in the supply chain.

Judge Rao pointed out that responsibility for labor trafficking extends beyond the companies to include labor brokers, other consumers of cobalt, and the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Rao questioned the effectiveness of merely buying cobalt from the DRC in proving “participation in a venture” that involves forced labor, ultimately finding the evidence insufficient.

Plaintiffs' attorney Terry Collingsworth mentioned the possibility of further appeals or initiating new lawsuits based on the companies' actions meeting the court's standards. He criticized the decision for potentially encouraging companies to maintain opacity in their supply chains, despite public assurances of a "zero tolerance" stance on child labor. Collingsworth emphasized the ongoing effort to hold these companies accountable.