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Apple has officially been slapped with a federal lawsuit that accuses the tech giant of sourcing minerals linked to forced labor, child exploitation, and armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.

Some shit you should know before you dig in: For decades, reports have documented widespread forced labor and the exploitation of children in the cobalt-rich mining regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where much of the world’s cobalt supply is extracted under dangerous conditions. Investigations by human rights groups, journalists, and academic researchers have found that many of these mines (often controlled by local militias, armed groups, corrupt officials, or powerful foreign-owned companies) rely heavily on artisanal miners, including children as young as six, who dig by hand in narrow, unstable tunnels. These workers frequently earn the equivalent of just a few dollars per day, with some reports describing children being paid as little as $1 for labor that can last twelve hours or more. Numerous investigations have uncovered evidence of beatings, coercion, and forced labor imposed by armed actors who control mining sites or smuggling routes.

What’s going on now: In a notable development, the International Rights Advocates (IRAdvocates), a Washington-based human rights nonprofit, has filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia accusing Apple of knowingly benefiting from conflict-linked minerals sourced from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. The group alleges that Apple’s supply chain still contains cobalt, tin, tantalum, and tungsten tied to child labor, forced labor, and armed groups operating in the region, despite Apple’s assurances that it maintains one of the strictest sourcing standards in the tech industry.

According to the complaint, IRAdvocates claims that Apple has misled consumers by marketing its products as ethically and responsibly sourced while allegedly relying on minerals that were smuggled through Rwanda after armed groups seized mines in eastern Congo. The lawsuit specifically highlights three Chinese smelters (Ningxia Orient, JiuJiang JinXin, and Jiujiang Tanbre) that investigators from the United Nations and Global Witness previously linked to illicit coltan processing tied to conflict zones and abusive mining operations. A University of Nottingham study cited in the filing further alleges that forced and child labor were present at Congolese mining sites connected to Apple suppliers.

Apple, for its part, “strongly disputes” the allegations and maintains that it has taken substantial steps to prevent conflict-linked minerals from entering its supply chain. The company says it instructed suppliers to halt sourcing from the DRC and Rwanda as conflict escalated, and maintains that 76–99% of the cobalt used in its batteries in 2024 came from recycled sources.

The lawsuit does not seek monetary damages or class action status; instead, it aims to secure a legal determination that Apple violated consumer protection laws and to halt what IRAdvocates describes as deceptive marketing practices.