Lawsuit: Apple, Microsoft, Dell, Tesla profit from child cobalt miners

A new lawsuit accuses several of world's largest techlogy firms of kwingly profiting from children laboring under brutal conditions in African cobalt mines. suit, filed this week in Washington by ngovernmental organization International Rights vocates, seeks dams from Apple, Dell, Microsoft, Tesla and Alphabet, parent company of Google. Cobalt is an essential element in rechargeable lithium batteries that fuel many electronic devices.

Re: Dell just launched its crazy Alienware Area-51m in India, Alienware m15 and G7 15 also tagging along

rise of smartphones in past 20 years has created a large demand for metal, and growing popularity of electric cars is expected to furr increase demand. lawsuit claims companies are “aiding and abetting cruel and brutal use of young children” in cobalt mines in Democratic Republic of Congo. lawsuit targets a pair of mining companies, British-based firm Glencore and Chinese company Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, which it says supply cobalt to all defendants.

suit is filed on behalf of 13 anymous plaintiffs, all families with children who died or suffered a serious injury while mining cobalt. suit claims that cobalt boom “brought on a new wave of brutal exploitation” for DRC, which has a bloody colonial history and was once considered personal property of Belgium's King Leopold II. It says hundreds of Congolese children have been forced by extreme poverty to work in cobalt mines, digging in underground tunnels with primitive equipment for as little as $2 per day.

Re: Tesla Model 3 on autopilot mode rams into two cars in Connecticut

A statement from Apple said company is “deeply committed to responsible sourcing of materials that go into our products.” It says company “removed” six cobalt refiners from its supply chain in 2019 for being unable to meet Apple's safety standards. A Dell statement says allegations in lawsuit are being investigated and declares that company has “never kwingly sourced operations using any form of involuntary labor, fraudulent recruiting practices or child labor.” A Google statement says, “Child labor and endangerment is unacceptable and our Supplier Code of Conduct strictly prohibits this activity.” or companies named in lawsuit did t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Re: Apple will let you d wheels to its new Mac Pro for around Rs 28,500