A federal appeals court has rejected an appeal by former child miners and their representatives, ruling in favor of Google parent Alphabet, Apple, Dell Technologies, Microsoft, and Tesla over their alleged support for the use of child labor in cobalt mining operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, in a 3-0 decision, dismissed the plaintiffs' claims that the companies participated in a "forced labor" venture by purchasing cobalt from suppliers in the DRC. Cobalt is essential for manufacturing lithium-ion batteries used in electronics, and a significant portion of it comes from the DRC.
The plaintiffs argued that the companies deliberately obscured their reliance on child labor, with many children forced to work due to extreme poverty. However, the appeals court concluded that merely buying cobalt in the global supply chain did not constitute "participation in a venture" under federal laws protecting victims of human trafficking and forced labor.
While the plaintiffs were granted legal standing to seek damages, the court found that the companies had only a buyer-seller relationship with suppliers and lacked the power to stop the use of child labor. The decision maintained that other parties, including labor brokers, other cobalt consumers, and the DRC government, share responsibility for labor trafficking.
Terry Collingsworth, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, indicated that they may appeal further or pursue new lawsuits if the companies' conduct aligns with the court's criteria. However, the ruling is seen as providing an incentive for companies to avoid transparency with their suppliers, despite public promises of "zero tolerance" policies against child labor.
Dell reiterated its commitment to upholding human rights throughout its supply chain, emphasizing that it has never knowingly sourced products made with child labor. The other companies named in the lawsuit did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The decision upheld a previous dismissal by U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington and did not name the cobalt suppliers as defendants in the case.
