Child Laborers Mine for Cobalt Used in Tech Gadgets

Amnesty International and African Resources Watch have issued a report alleging that the supply chains of major electronics companies -- including Apple, Sony and Samsung -- included cobalt mined by child laborers in Africa. The companies have failed to make basic checks to halt the practice, the report claims. The report traces the harvesting and sale of cobalt in the poverty-stricken Democratic Republic of Congo -- where children as young as seven work the mines -- for use in lithium-ion batteries that power smartphones and electric cars.

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