Apple, Tesla Beat Bid to Revive Cobalt Mine Labor Case (Correct)

March 5, 2024, 5:53 PM UTCUpdated: March 8, 2024, 1:49 PM UTC

Apple Inc.,Tesla Inc., and Alphabet Inc. defeated workers’ attempt to revive a suit alleging the technology companies should be liable for forced child labor used in overseas cobalt mining operations.

The child miners have standing to sue the technology companies—which also include Microsoft Corp. and Dell Technologies Inc.—but they failed to state a claim because buying cobalt through the global supply chain doesn’t count as “participation in a venture” under federal anti-trafficking law, the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said Tuesday.

A bipartisan congressional commission in 2023 urged US companies to ensure they don’t ...

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