Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      South Africa begins complex job of overhauling media laws

      13 July 2025

      Nvidia CEO to hold high-stakes media briefing in Beijing

      13 July 2025

      Blue Label Telecoms to change its name as restructuring gathers pace

      11 July 2025

      Get your ID delivered like pizza – home affairs’ latest digital shake-up

      11 July 2025

      EFF vows to stop Starlink from launching in South Africa

      11 July 2025
    • World

      Grok 4 arrives with bold claims and fresh controversy

      10 July 2025

      Bitcoin pushes higher into record territory

      10 July 2025

      Cupertino vs Brussels: Apple challenges Big Tech crackdown

      7 July 2025

      Grammarly acquires e-mail start-up Superhuman

      1 July 2025

      Apple considers ditching its own AI in Siri overhaul

      1 July 2025
    • In-depth

      Siemens is battling Big Tech for AI supremacy in factories

      24 June 2025

      The algorithm will sing now: why musicians should be worried about AI

      20 June 2025

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025

      MultiChoice may unbundle SuperSport from DStv

      12 June 2025

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025
    • TCS

      TCS+ | MVNX on the opportunities in South Africa’s booming MVNO market

      11 July 2025

      TCS | Connecting Saffas – Renier Lombard on The Lekker Network

      7 July 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E4: Takealot’s big Post Office jobs plan

      4 July 2025

      TCS | Tech, townships and tenacity: Spar’s plan to win with Spar2U

      3 July 2025

      TCS+ | First Distribution on the latest and greatest cloud technologies

      27 June 2025
    • Opinion

      In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

      30 June 2025

      E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

      30 June 2025

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CambriLearn
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » News » Lawsuit claims Apple, Microsoft profit from African child miners

    Lawsuit claims Apple, Microsoft profit from African child miners

    By Ashraf Khalil18 December 2019
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp

    A new lawsuit is accusing several of the world’s largest technology firms of knowingly profiting from children labouring under brutal conditions in African cobalt mines.

    The suit, filed this week in Washington by the non-governmental organisation International Rights Advocates, seeks damages from Apple, Dell, Microsoft, Tesla and Alphabet, the parent company of Google.

    It claims the companies are “aiding and abetting the cruel and brutal use of young children” in cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

    Cobalt is an essential element in the rechargeable lithium batteries that fuel many electronic devices

    The suit targets a pair of mining companies, the British-based firm Glencore and the Chinese company Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, which it says supply cobalt to all of the defendants.

    The suit is filed on behalf of 13 anonymous plaintiffs, all families with children who died or suffered serious injury while mining cobalt.

    Cobalt is an essential element in the rechargeable lithium batteries that fuel many electronic devices.

    The rise of smartphones in the past 20 years created a large demand for the metal, and the growing popularity of electric cars is expected to further increase demand.

    The majority of the global cobalt supply comes from two provinces in the DRC.

    ‘Brutal exploitation’

    The suit claims that the cobalt boom “brought on a new wave of brutal exploitation” for the DRC, which has a bloody colonial history and was once considered the personal property of Belgium’s King Leopold II.

    It says hundreds of Congolese children have been forced by extreme poverty to work in the cobalt mines, digging in underground tunnels with primitive equipment for as little as two US dollars per day.

    A statement from Apple said the company is “deeply committed to the responsible sourcing of materials that go into our products”.

    It says the company “removed” six cobalt refiners from its supply chain in 2019 for being unable to meet Apple’s safety standards.

    A Dell statement says the allegations in the lawsuit are being investigated and declares that the company has “never knowingly sourced operations using any form of involuntary labour, fraudulent recruiting practices or child labour”.

    Efforts to seek comment from the other companies named in the suit did not receive an immediate response.



    Apple Glencore Google Microsoft top Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleSouth African-made Mara smartphones get corporate backing
    Next Article MTN South Africa sets mobile money relaunch date

    Related Posts

    Apple plans product blitz to reignite growth

    11 July 2025

    OpenAI to launch web browser in direct challenge to Google Chrome

    10 July 2025

    AI gold rush propels Nvidia to record $4-trillion market cap

    9 July 2025
    Company News

    $125-trillion traded: Binance redefines global finance in just eight years

    11 July 2025

    NEC XON welcomes HPE acquisition of Juniper Networks

    11 July 2025

    LTE Cat 1 vs Cat 1 bis – what’s the difference?

    11 July 2025
    Opinion

    In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

    30 June 2025

    E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

    30 June 2025

    South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

    17 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.