IN a significant legal ruling, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has dismissed a lawsuit against five major technology companies – Google parent Alphabet, Apple, Dell Technologies, Microsoft, and Tesla – over their alleged involvement in supporting child labour in cobalt mining operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The 3-0 decision by the appeals court upheld the lower court’s dismissal of the case, rejecting an appeal brought by former child miners and their representatives. The plaintiffs had accused the tech giants of participating in a ‘forced labour’ scheme by purchasing cobalt, a key component in lithium-ion batteries used in electronics, from suppliers linked to child labour.
‘The tech companies’ purchasing an unspecified amount of cobalt from a supply chain originating in DRC mines does not plausibly demonstrate “participation in a venture” with anyone engaged in forced labour in that supply chain,’ Circuit Judge Neomi Rao stated in the court’s decision.
Terry Collingsworth, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs, expressed disappointment with the decision, suggesting potential further appeals or new lawsuits if the companies’ conduct aligns with the court’s standards. He criticised the ruling for potentially discouraging transparency in supply chains despite public commitments against child labour.
‘The decision provides a strong incentive to avoid any transparency with their suppliers, even as they promise the public they have “zero tolerance” policies against child labour,’ Collingsworth said in a statement.
The court’s ruling emphasised that merely buying cobalt from the global supply chain did not constitute ‘participation in a venture’ under federal laws protecting victims of human trafficking and forced labour. Circuit Judge Rao clarified that while the plaintiffs had legal standing to seek damages, they failed to demonstrate that the tech companies had more than a buyer-seller relationship with their suppliers or the power to halt the use of child labour.
The dismissed lawsuit did not name cobalt suppliers such as Eurasian Resources Group, Glencore, Umicore, and Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt as defendants, despite their role in the cobalt supply chain.
As of now, there has been no immediate comment from Google, Apple, Dell, Microsoft, Tesla, or their respective legal representatives regarding the court’s decision.
The case, officially known as Doe 1 et al v Apple Inc et al, was heard by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and has been assigned the reference number No. 21-7135.