Another day, another lawsuit. Or rather, lawsuits. Apple and Tesla are accused in a pair of lawsuits of engaging in “deceptive marketing” of their products, reports The Detroit News.
The lawsuits claims the companies are suggesting to consumers that they’re manufactured ethically and sustainably, while both companies allegedly use raw materials linked to child labor, forced labor, gang rape, torture, killings, poisoned rivers and ruined crops.
The allegations in the lawsuits filed by Washington, D.C.-based International Rights Advocates in District of Columbia Superior Court differ in certain details but each focus on Democratic Republic of Congo, where large reserves of minerals used in many consumer-technology products have led to bloody conflict and a massive humanitarian crisis, according to The Detroit News.
At issue in the lawsuits are two minerals, cobalt — used in rechargeable batteries for electric cars and electronic devices including those sold by Tesla and Apple — and coltan, which is refined into tantalum, a heat-resistant metallic powder used to regulate electrical current in phones and laptops, including Apple’s.
Apple said the lawsuit’s claims “have no basis in fact.” Tesla did not respond to requests from The Detroit News for comment.
Lawsuits involving Apple and conflict materials aren’t new. On November 26 a U.S.-based advocacy group filed a lawsuit in Washington accusing Apple of using minerals linked to conflict and human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda despite the tech giant’s denials, reports Reuters.
The International Rights Advocates (IRAdvocates) has previously sued Tesla, Apple and other tech firms over cobalt sourcing, but U.S. courts dismissed that case last year. French prosecutors also dropped Congo’s case against Apple subsidiaries in December over conflict minerals, citing lack of evidence. A related criminal complaint in Belgium is still under investigation.
Apple denied any wrongdoing in response to Congo’s lawsuits, saying it had instructed its suppliers to halt the sourcing of material from Congo and neighboring Rwanda, notes Reuters.
Apple claims it’s working to reduce the use of conflict materials. In a December 2020 report, the tech giant had this to say: Although ‘blood diamonds’ is a phrase most people recognize, fewer people are aware of the term “conflict minerals.” These usually come from areas of the world where there is some form of conflict and are obtained through the exploitative use of workers, with human trafficking and slavery often involved and the proceeds helping to prolong and fund the conflict.
The main three conflict minerals are tin, tungsten, and tantalum (the 3 Ts), but gold can also be included. A common source of these minerals is the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), an area with ongoing violence and human rights violations.
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