{"id":3466,"date":"2025-11-26T18:23:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T18:23:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=3466"},"modified":"2025-11-26T18:23:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T18:23:12","slug":"us-group-sues-apple-over-dr-congo-conflict-minerals-business-and-economy-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=3466","title":{"rendered":"US group sues Apple over DR Congo conflict minerals | Business and Economy News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>International Rights Advocates also sued Tesla for a similar issue, but that case was dismissed.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 26 Nov 2025<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">26 Nov 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>A United States-based advocacy group has filed a lawsuit in Washington, DC, accusing Apple of using minerals linked to conflict and human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda despite the iPhone maker\u2019s denials.<\/p>\n<p>International Rights Advocates (IRAdvocates) has previously sued Tesla, Apple and other tech firms over cobalt sourcing, but US courts dismissed that case last year.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>French prosecutors in December also dropped a case filed by the DRC against Apple subsidiaries over conflict minerals, citing lack of evidence. A related criminal complaint in Belgium is still under investigation.<\/p>\n<p>Apple denied any wrongdoing in response to the DRC\u2019s legal cases, saying it had instructed its suppliers to halt the sourcing of material from the DRC and neighbouring Rwanda.<\/p>\n<p>It did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the latest complaint.<\/p>\n<p>IRAdvocates, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit that tries to use litigation to curtail rights abuses, said in the complaint filed on Tuesday in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia that Apple\u2019s supply chain still includes cobalt, tin, tantalum and tungsten linked to child and forced labour as well as armed groups in the DRC and Rwanda.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit seeks a determination by the court that Apple\u2019s conduct violates consumer protection law, an injunction to halt alleged deceptive marketing and reimbursement of legal costs but does not seek monetary damages or class certification.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit alleges that three Chinese smelters \u2013 Ningxia Orient, JiuJiang JinXin and Jiujiang Tanbre \u2013 processed coltan that United Nations and Global Witness investigators alleged was smuggled through Rwanda after armed groups seized mines in the eastern DRC and linked the material to Apple\u2019s supply chain.<\/p>\n<p>A University of Nottingham study published in 2025 found forced and child labour at DRC sites linked to Apple suppliers, the lawsuit said.<\/p>\n<p>Ningxia Orient, JiuJiang JinXin and Jiujiang Tanbre did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n<p>The DRC \u2013 which supplies about 70 percent of the world\u2019s cobalt and significant volumes of tin, tantalum and tungsten used in phones, batteries and computers \u2013 did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Rwanda also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Apple has repeatedly denied sourcing minerals from conflict zones or using forced labour, citing audits and its supplier code of conduct. It said in December that there was \u201cno reasonable basis\u201d to conclude any smelters or refiners in its supply chain financed armed groups in the DRC or neighbouring countries.<\/p>\n<p>Congolese authorities said armed groups in the eastern part of the country use mineral profits to fund a conflict that has killed thousands of people and displaced hundreds of thousands. The authorities have tightened controls on minerals to choke off funding, squeezing global supplies.<\/p>\n<p>Apple says 76 percent of the cobalt in its devices was recycled in 2024, but the IRAdvocates lawsuit alleged its accounting method allows mixing with ore from conflict zones.<\/p>\n<p>On Wall Street, Apple\u2019s stock was up 0.8 percent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>International Rights Advocates also sued Tesla for a similar issue, but that case was dismissed. Published On 26 Nov 202526 Nov 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share A United States-based advocacy group has filed a lawsuit in Washington, DC, accusing Apple of using minerals linked to conflict and human rights abuses [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-canada-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3466\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}