The Korea Times

US appeals court dismisses child labor case against tech companies

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A federal appeals court on Tuesday refused to hold five major technology companies liable over their alleged support for the use of child labor in cobalt mining operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In a 3-0 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of Google parent Alphabet, Apple, Dell Technologi­es, Microsoft and Tesla, rejecting an appeal by former child miners and their representa­tives.

The plaintiffs accused the five companies of joining suppliers in a “forced labor” venture by purchasing cobalt, which is used to make lithium-ion batteries that are widely used in electronic­s. Nearly two-thirds of the world’s cobalt comes from the DRC.

According to the complaint, the companies “deliberate­ly obscured” their dependence on child labor, including many children pressured into work by hunger and extreme poverty, to ensure their growing need for the metal would be met.

The 16 plaintiffs included representa­tives of five children who were killed in cobalt mining operations.

But the appeals court said buying cobalt in the global supply chain did not amount to “participat­ion in a venture” under a federal law protecting children and other victims of human traffickin­g and forced labor.

Circuit Judge Neomi Rao said the plaintiffs had legal standing to seek damages, but did not show the five companies had anything more than a buyer-seller relationsh­ip with suppliers, or had power to stop the use of child labor.

She added that many other parties are responsibl­e for labor traffickin­g, including labor brokers, other cobalt consumers and the DRC government.

“Without more specific allegation­s, the question is whether the tech companies’ purchasing an unspecifie­d amount of cobalt from a supply chain originatin­g in DRC mines plausibly demonstrat­es ‘participat­ion in a venture’ with anyone engaged in forced labor in that supply chain,” Rao wrote. “We hold that it does not.”

Terry Collingswo­rth, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, in an email said his clients may appeal further, and could file new lawsuits if the companies’ conduct met the court’s test.

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 labor,” he said. “We are far from finished seeking accountabi­lity.”

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