Well, maybe. I don't think the suit will go anywhere (sort of like suing big oil companies over global warming), but it is good to get this news out to the public more, so that politicians pushing them/subsidizing them/banning gasoline/diesel/ICE cars can be properly shamed.
The CCP-Dems are playing the long game here, to benefit China, imho, on the literal backs of african slaves.Quote:
An attempt by Congolese parents to sue Apple, Alphabet (the parent company of Google), Dell Technologies, Microsoft and Tesla in U.S. federal court received publicity from a story in the Deseret News.
Via the story, the lawsuit says, "Cobalt is a key component of every rechargeable lithium-ion battery in all of the gadgets made by defendants and all other tech and electric car companies in the world that has brought on the latest wave of cruel exploitation fueled by greed, corruption and indifference to a population of powerless, starving Congolese people."
The charge is that cobalt workers are slaves.
The story said, "The companies have argued the case should be dismissed, asserting they have no control over the mining practices in a foreign country and that the families lack standing to bring the suit on U.S. soil. Furthermore, they stressed they have no direct connection to mining on foreign soil."
I am no lawyer but it does seem standing is a problem.
But just because something is legal that does not make it right.
The lawsuit says, "There is no question that defendants have specific knowledge that the cobalt mined in DRC they use in their various products includes cobalt that was produced by children working under extremely hazardous conditions, that serious mining accidents are common due to the primitive conditions and complete lack of safety precautions in the mines, and that hundreds, if not thousands, of children have been maimed or killed to produce the cobalt needed for the world's modern tech gadgets produced by defendants and other companies."
Every smartphone, tablet, laptop, electric vehicle or other device containing a lithium-ion rechargeable battery requires cobalt in order to recharge.
And that comes from cobalt in Congo.
And the Democratic Republic of Congo has gone from being a French colony to being a war-torn and corrupt client of Red China.
The use of slaves to mine cobalt is not news.
On October 17, 2017, Reuters reported, "Electric vehicles are often labeled the "green cars" of the future but rising demand for the raw materials needed to get them on the road could increase the risk of slavery in their production, according to a risk analysis report on Tuesday.
"British risk analysis firm Verisk Maplecroft said electric vehicle makers would need to be careful as they cast a wider net to source raw materials ranging from rubber to aluminum and mica needed for the 30,000 or so components in each car."
The story also said, "The report, based on data from the firm's commodity risk service, said China was now the top producing country for about 86 percent of the key commodities in lithium-ion batteries but this was likely to change as production picks up speed.
"Demand for eco-friendly electric vehicles is on the rise."
Of course it is. Western governments push inefficient electric automobiles as a means of battling the Climate Change bogeyman.
Meanwhile, Red China runs its cars on gasoline. On Monday, Reuters reported, "Why China Will be the World's Largest Oil Refiner in 2021."
