Apple, Others Escape Claims Over Child Labor in Cobalt Mining

Alphabet Inc., Apple Inc., Dell Technologies Inc., Microsoft Corp., and Tesla Inc. are free from a proposed class action claiming they are liable for alleged child labor abuses in the supply chain for cobalt used in their products, a federal court in Washington ruled Tuesday.

The nonprofit International Rights Advocates sued the tech companies in December 2019, seeking to represent a class of families of children killed or hurt while mining for cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Cobalt is used in the production of lithium-ion batteries, and much of it is found in Congo. ...