05/20/2024
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled 3-0 in favor of Alphabet (Google), Apple, Dell Technologies, Microsoft, and Tesla, rejecting an appeal by former child miners and their representatives. The plaintiffs had accused these companies of participating in a "forced labor" venture by purchasing cobalt, crucial for lithium-ion batteries, primarily sourced from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). They claimed the companies "deliberately obscured" their reliance on child labor, driven by poverty, to secure their cobalt supply.
However, the appeals court determined that purchasing cobalt from a global supply chain did not constitute "participation in a venture" under federal laws protecting against human trafficking and forced labor. Circuit Judge Neomi Rao acknowledged that while the plaintiffs had legal standing, they failed to demonstrate that the companies had more than a buyer-seller relationship with their suppliers or had the ability to prevent child labor. She emphasized that numerous other entities, including labor brokers and the DRC government, also bore responsibility for labor trafficking.
Terry Collingsworth, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, suggested they might appeal further or file new lawsuits if the companies' actions met legal standards. He criticized the decision, arguing it incentivized companies to avoid transparency despite public commitments against child labor. Dell reiterated its commitment to human rights, while Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Tesla did not comment. The ruling upheld a November 2021 dismissal by U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, and the cobalt suppliers involved were not named as defendants.
