US Tech Giants Involved in Alleged Child Labor Case, Dismissed as "Ordinary Buyer-Seller” DRT Transaction

By Moon Harper

Mar 27, 2024 06:22 AM EDT

A US court cleared five of America's largest tech firms of allegations regarding their purported involvement in child labor within cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday.

Five Tech Giants' Child Labor Case Allegations in the DRC

The five tech giants, Apple, Alphabet Inc. (Google's parent company), Dell, Microsoft, and Tesla, were accused in case documents seen by ABC News of "knowingly benefiting from and aiding and abetting the cruel and brutal use" of child labor in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The US Court of Appeals Dismissing Tech Giants' Case

On Tuesday, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the tech companies could not be held liable in a 3-0 decision, stating that they had nothing more than an ordinary buyer-seller transaction with suppliers in the DRC, saying that many actors, including labor brokers, other cobalt consumers, and even the DRC government, perpetuate labor trafficking. It further elaborated that issuing an injunction to the tech companies to stop the cobalt venture from using forced child labor would not bind the direct perpetrators of the unlawful labor, who are not part of this court proceeding.

Sixteen plaintiffs initiated the case in December 2022, including four former miners and child miners' legal representatives who either lost their lives or sustained significant injuries in the cobalt mining operations of DRC.

The defendants were accused of knowingly benefiting from and aiding the cruel and brutal use of young children in the DRC to mine cobalt while being aware, for a significant period, of the human rights violations happening in the cobalt mining supply chain.

The Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) Cobalt

The DRC is renowned as one of the world's most mineral-rich countries, boasting over 70% of the global cobalt reserves.

Anneke Van Woudenberg, executive director of Rights and Accountability in Development, stated in an interview with ABC News that cobalt is a critical mineral. It is utilized in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles and electronic devices, and its demand is escalating with the green transition as the company moves towards achieving net-zero emissions.

Extensive Human Rights Abuses in The Congo DRC

Human rights organizations have extensively documented serious human rights abuses within the DRC's cobalt supply chain's expansion, which resulted in the forced eviction of entire communities and severe human rights violations, including sexual assault, arson, and physical assaults. These organizations emphasize the urgent need for increased accountability in the industry.

Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, emphasizing this significant harm to individuals, suggests the expansion be halted immediately.

Donat Kambola, president of IBGDH, highlighted that people are facing forced evictions, threats, intimidation, and deceptive tactics to coerce them into leaving their homes or accepting inadequate settlements. In many cases, grievance mechanisms, accountability, or access to justice are lacking.