Apple faces new lawsuit over alleged use of conflict minerals

An advocacy group is taking another crack at Apple in court, again accusing the company of using conflict minerals tied to violence and human rights abuses in Central Africa.

Mine with acid lake | Credit: dimitrisvetsikas1969 on Pixabay

International Rights Advocates (IRAdvocates) has filed a lawsuit against Apple over its use of conflict minerals in its devices. The group alleges that Apple uses minerals connected to human rights abuses and conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda.

The Washington-based advocacy group is asking the courts to verify that Apple’s use of conflict minerals violates consumer protection law. The lawsuit, spotted by Reuters, alleges that three Chinese smelters, Ningxia Orient, JiuJiang JinXin, and Jiujiang Tanbre, processed coltan that was smuggled through Rwanda after armed groups seized mines in Eastern DRC.

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