The deadly cost of cobalt for smartphones | DW Stories
Vložit
- čas přidán 21. 02. 2020
- The journey of the world's smartphones and tabletsoften begins with children digging in the deadly cobalt mines of Congo. One US-based human rights non-profit is helping 14 DRC families sue Apple, Google, Dell, Tesla and Microsoft over the loss of life or limb in mines where children dig for the cobalt needed for tech gadgets.
Subscribe: czcams.com/users/deutsche...
For more news go to: www.dw.com/en/
Follow DW on social media:
►Facebook: / deutschewellenews
►Twitter: / dwnews
►Instagram: / dw_stories
Für Videos in deutscher Sprache besuchen Sie: czcams.com/channels/uts.html...
CORRECTION: Some of the photos used in this report are attributed to the International Rights Advocates organization. The copyright holder is actually Siddharth Kara, an author and researcher on modern slavery.
A child that is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.
It’s not only about child workers (though extremely important). The adults working in these unregulated mines can be parents themselves, causing a ripple effect on an entire family. The responsibility of these “tech giants” is to have moral conduct, unfortunately this will not happen any time soon.
Its easy to say "big corporations bad and greedy". Theres an equal blame on consumers. Tech giants are consumers of cobalt and are aware of where it comes from, we are consumers of tech giants products and we're aware of where it comes from. Theres no difference. Its our fault as much as its Apples or Googles fault. Tech giants want cheap cobalt so they can save money and we want those smartphones to be cheaper so we can save money.
And Mica for make-up.
All will be finished one day..
We live in a world where every choice orphans a child a continent away.
Is it the consumers fault? Failure in government policy. But also poor countries have no choice but to sell their labor for cheap. So there's the choice: die working in a mine or die of starvation.
it like one place is happy and other place is sad
The fault is with the tech companies, they know without the cheap labor they can't be obscenely wealthy...solution lies with consumers refusing to enable them
They treat themselves like that. They don't care to do it properly. Why we should care about their ways? Besides normal men die even in modern countries at work...
@@StrongFreeLovin they dont have the facilities to do it properly because they dont get payed enough or the ones who get payed exploit the workers. they dint get payed enough because the big companys dont want to pay more for the coltan. why? because they keep the money they take from us, the consumers. the consumers refuse to pay more why? because we only care about our own money not about people dying for us to have 2 smartphones, a laptop and a brand new electric car.
@@judigemini178 Do you think employers are going to accept/keep you as an employee if you don't possess a mobile phone to "clock in/clock out"? I tried resisting the unfair demands of the Cleaning Company I worked for (And paid the price. Job lost.) and their Managing Director didn't even know about the clause in the employees contract that should a disagreement arise there would be "consultation" over the issue. Never happened. FairWork? Make sure you're in the Union, folks!
Smartphones, yeah.. What about fancy electric cars? An electric car battery is 10 000x bigger than smartohone battery!
That's why these climate activists have emerged recently. They are to prove to you that diesel is worse than child labor.
Ohh bro I see your point but you missed one little thing, battery Isn't the problem neither is the technology of it, it is the company who take advantage of the instability, that's why DW news mentioned smartphones because the companies there are Samsung and the rest not the makers of Porsche or Tesla or other electric car manufacturers, but good point though.
@@manapotion1594 ok this is straight up dumb 😂😂😂
Environmental science is complicated and can be counter-intuitive. Environmental activism is simple... just yell "shame!" at people and act superior.
Who said climate activists advocate electric cars? Recently they fought against the opening of a Tesla factory in Germany in order to save trees. The goal of those behind these activists is to reduce the industrialization in the west, stop it in China and make sure it never starts in Africa.
People in Congo should be rich because of Cobalt, but the government is so corrupt that they have become even more miserable do to Cobalt mines.
Thank you very much for the research and information on this issue. It is very important that the reality does not fall into total oblivion and that people remember and pay attention.
Thank you for investigating this crime against children. I hope other media sources will also share news of this tragic situation. KEEP PRESSURE ON SILICON VALLEY.
open cut mine pictured is in australia not congo
My heart breaks for these poor little kids just trying to earn enough to be able to survive. It’s beyond horrific and those involved in doing this need to be shoved deep inside these mines and left to rot
Own a phone much... Laptop? What do you use to watch this video? Where do you think the Cobalt in your battery is from? The problem is systematic and we need to all demand consequences from everyone involved ... DRC govt... our politicians, the tech companies and us the consumers.
As an African , I think the problems are multifactorial.
The government of Congo just like most African governments are corrupt.
There's poverty and may not be able to afford education, this is the best job so far in the area.
France has a key role, in French-speaking African countries, meaning even if the Congolese govt intervenes, they still have to speak with France.
The companies as usual are corrupt and don't care as far as they get what they want.
Menh so sad about the loss of life especially children
Child labour is a international problem. But at least, child labour should not be used in the hazardous works like mining. The biggest problem is that companies do not treat people as living thing. They treat human as a goods only.
@@abhishekjha1996 yes you are right. Those mines are dangerous. It reminds me of child labour for the blood diamonds.
@@PreshEhi Life and death is a game for some businessmen☹
Tell this to gretta thunberg who is skipping school and shouting in streets 😒
Slavery still exits
a bad for a good smartphone, what else
The sad truth
so incredibly important
If any government cared about human life or suffering or even just the work standards their own people must endure to compete globally, then we would institute strong labor standards in our trade deals, not financial tariffs to make a quick buck at the cost of consumers...
I believe a big problem is there is no functioning, accountable government in DRC. No matter what is done, if there is no proper government to enforce the rule, it will not solve the fundamental issue.
Thank you for the coverage. I did not know this even heard of it before. Stop buying new thing just the sake of changing and following trend. Be more considerate. That is the least we can do
I think those companies should be sued for a few more specific reasons. GO GET THEM! Much love to those families. Good luck
Just like the coal mines way back in England and later in US. And same with diamond mines in Africa. Nothing has changed.
Same thing happens with diamonds gold any sort of mineral
These children are mining for a reason, I'm sure their parents would put a stop to it if they could, if they didn't rely on the cobalt for their food/water/shelter. It's a tough world out there for many, and I would gladly pay a bit more for smartphones etc if the money was to fall into their hands.
we all know it won't
DW should do some covers on the lithium ion mining in Bolivia.Those fancy and sleek looking electric cars that was made by Porsche,Jaguar,and many others all came with a huge cost. So many families are on the danger for their homes to be demolished and ruthless treatments that they are receiving from the Bolivian army
Corrupt government, poor governance, lack of patriotism, these peoples are heartless🤦🏾♂️ may Allah assist these kids and their families.
Thank you for the videos
the Government of Congo should have been the one responsible for this. They should have provide work and education for these young ones. Corruption really is the root of all these.
The DR Congo is an extremely traumatised and severely exploited country. My community work along the Congo River from Kisangani is blocked by the perpetuated Conflict Mineral Wars in the region of eastern DRC, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.
great news. love from Bangladesh
To be fair you can pretty much guarantee some form of human rights violations in any mine in an undeveloped country
Greed, corruption and poverty. Lethal combinations for the vulnerable. Terrible!
Ojalá tradujeron estos vídeos al español, gracias .
don't forget the number one user of Cobalt is gasoline refineries... it's used to remove sulfur.
its about 9 percent of all cobalt mined goes to making catalysts of which most is used to de-sulphur oil in prep to make petrol or diesel.
If they upgrade the phones every 3-5 years as well as all electronics such as TV's, video cards, cpu's, game consoles at least last a bit longer everything would be steady on the ship. The ship is rocking because everyone can't stay disciplined they are rabid wild consumers.
Every year*
I am sure billy wont lose any sleep over this
Perhaps the country should take the mines back and run it themselves safely
good job
Wow. I read a couple of comments that recognised this is a problem caused myself indulgent consumers who want the newest and best cheap no matter what, greedy corporations, and impotent governments. The rest are a mirror of how the world is as it is. DW keep the exposure of things like this coming.
People are hypocrites. They will comment this as if they care, but in the end they don't.
they buy new phone's every year.
Where's that children's Childhood? 😓
Sad
The solution is to ban exports of the cobalt from there completely. The reality is bleak for places in the world that have zero accountability. If not mining then what? They need a competent government to bring about stability and infrastructure. Only then can companies operate legally and ethically and the workers paid appropriately. But that sadly will NEVER happen.
Not Just smartphones and tablets, its in the battery of electric cars aswell...
How to stop this kind of exploitation even?? It's so difficult because the businesses involved are just entities that focus on revenue and out-doing the competition. There exists not a single mechanism that counters this.
Brünos voice double😂 0:15
The EV fans dont care as usual . They just see that they have an EV and no further responsibility .
And yet we are trying to rapidly move towards renewable energy which relies on cobalt.
When the whole world switches to electric cars. African continent will just be one deep hole after this scale of mining.
Its huge cobalt deposit
I never buy thr new phone model,mine last for 4 or 5 years. The old phone i used i will literally get fun off for using a old model.And the phone im using now which i bought 2 years ago is considered old from my family and friends.But i don't care why do i want a new phone if my phone works perfectly fine and that's what i dont get.And thanks for sharing this video ppl need to know the truth.
I dont know why their pickle brains think its okay to make fun of you, but im also sick and tired paying $1K for a phone every new year. Big companies can screw them self with that type of prices. I also stoped purchasing phones going on my third year with the same one
This is horrible. We need to be better than this.
Those companies could support the government to control and regellate mining for cobalt
this is very sad and tragic, i really dont understand the situation too well but at first glance to me it seems like Congo's government regulations are at fault and the international community needs to hold them accountable, it would help if the tech giants took a united front to protect the kids, but which companies? just western companies? what about Huawei etc.?
Every company, how cynical would it be for western companies to resist this simply because Chinese companies don’t? That’d be like western governments trying to justify suppressing our speech because China does the same. We shouldn’t stand for this.
The international companies/corporations couldn't give two figs for the adults or the children. They only care about the size of their bank accounts.They probably don't even know where these countries are.
The green utopia! 😒
Electric cars too woah this is messed up if it wasn't for Joe Rogan podcast I wouldn't be searching up more on this
Wow this country could be vastly wealthy
Not with that amount of corruption and mismanagement. Like most African countries.
@tyqwan pettty Its politicians ARE vastly wealthy. They travel in private jets and own mansions in Europe and America. Their bank accounts are well-padded.
Ja aber sind wird dafür verantwortlich oder sogar schuld? Wenn man 1.200€ für ein Handy bezahlt oder ein Elektro Fahrzeug für 60.000€ kauft, sollte das Produkt gut bezahlt sein. Die Verantwortung liegt da ganz klar auch bei den Unternehmen. Ja, die richten sich zwar an den Markt und somit an den Verbraucher, aber kein Verbraucher unterstützt sowas bewusst. Das zeigt einfach nur, dass das Geld nicht dort landet wo es erarbeitet wurde.
30,000??
Seriously
Tf is going on in this world
This is DEFINITELY my LAST DW video because it is pure GARBAGE!! The video lacks CRUCIAL INFORMATION like HOW MUCH cobalt is mined annually in the DRC, and WHAT PERCENTAGE of it is mined by children. If you dig into the numbers, it is LESS THAN 1%. Furthermore, NOWHERE in the video does it say that the fossil fuel industry uses FAR MORE cobalt to extract sulphur out of oil (which is present in 0.5%-2.5% in concentration, naturally) than all the tech giants combined. Give me a break with this Mickey Mouse clickbait garbage. DW, I'm disappointed, and would love to have some transparency about how much of your advertising comes from the fossil fuel industry. Somebody prove me wrong, PLEASE!!!
But what if I use the phone to broadcast what an eco-friendly consumer I am? surely that counts for something..
Well I guess the cobalt is the new oil. Or the new rubber trees.
"What's your occupation?"
"DRC expert" 💀
Dont forget the coup in Bolivia for Lithiun car bateries
what is the update on this case. Did they win their cases? Or did the corporations deny responsiblity because it's outsourced to Chinese.
The world should be free of child labor period. It's 2022 and it's and moral and ethical responsibility for all participants in the supply to make sure that doesn't happen.
If I owned the Mining company, I'd invest in teaching them about mining so that they become good assets to the company making sure they're not harmed on the way else it will be a loss to the company.
i wish you could do that but problem is the the contractors you will hiring might not follow rules
@@harshithsadhana7475 what if all the labor were working for company and no contractors were assigned?
@@LaxmikantKachhap have ever worked in a company my friend, ever visited a bank? to run any company whether it is mine or shop you need organization.
Where are the parents of the children?
They are the one taking the money
jakub xotox kovacs exactly mann the problem a bunch of people who complain about it doesn’t know the way Africans operate. As long if you’re still under your parents you’ll do anything they say you must do
Why... why... why...
If citizens of Congo wouldn't like it, they would not elect the government which allows it.
I luved in the Silicon Valley for an year between 2010-2011. Never heard of that but every body was very concerned about the environment 🤔
now that we are aware of this issue, what do we as consumers do?
Don’t buy things with batteries 🔋
Don't buy
imo the problem is not cobalt, it is poverty and child labor itself. will the congolese be happy once we abandon cobalt from our batteries? will the children stop working and go to school then? they will just find other jobs and thats it
And people wondering why there isn't enough ps5
This people needs safer working conditions and children sent to school.
At least Google reckoned the issue where as Apple assumes it's pure evil nature
This is why I attempt to avoid buying new
Then where is the U.N.?
No this is not the cost of tech this is the cost of greed.
Im so sorry 😢 my phone is 6 year „old“ and the screen is already broken. But I will keep it to the very end. And I will only buy resells.
I hate Environment activist who always have the latest phone model.
You should film it with China employer.
Wow at least with oil there is no child labor. The carbon footprint for mining is huge I guess it doesn't affect the atmosphere as long as it doesn't come from the US...its just $$$$$ for green deals instead of oil Same game different players. Dont feel too special about your electric car choice
This is not right, but suing tech giant is not the way. First should be the country's government, then producent, then manufacturer (tech giants) and after consumer. Lawsuit against tech giant is the same as lawsuit against consumer. And if consumer doesn't change and will choose the cheaper option, then who is really to blame?
So I only need to buy such a mine. Change the working conditions, make marketing with that, and make billions over billions over billions of fair trade rare earth resources.
I hate this! Who are the mining companies?! Their punishment should be working the mines themselves, HARD LABOR!
The man is using phone for communication..... U are culprit as well ..... Or no one except thier parents......
yep, its why i dont listen to anyone touting and advocating for green energy if they are carrying a phone or driving an electric car or using ANYTHING that involves electricity. If you are smug about green energy while carrying a phone , any phone or driving an electric car, i wont listen to you. You are clearly full of it. Just own it. I like to use technology, i understand the harm it causes miners and just enjoy your life.
If this is true then I am somewhat responsible for this. As such one way or another I will have to pay for it in life.
Why are you responsible?
@@luffy591000 we buy cell phones which has a child's torture written over it (highly likely due to cobalt mining). Although not responsible directly we are unintentionally responsible for this in a way. Now try to figure out why I said this.
@@anshumansahu1087 you are right and i agree with you. I think it's the same think for other products like clothes
@@luffy591000 yes maybe. This is because the rich always feed of the poor. That is how the social food chain works.
Developed countries are responsible for poverty water scarcity inequality and more than that for these nation from India
👏
south Korea: NO
it's also a nation's own responsibility to find a way tp develop. EX: china these past decades or Vietnam.. South Korea etc
@GreyboSneed the slaves can't free themselves. That is the system they were brought up in. The west wouldn't let that happen actually!
A bit oversimplified here bud…
We must come up with alternative battery technology IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!!! 🌍🌍🌍
lithium iron phosphate, and its saready being used in the tesla model 3
TESLA owners have blood on their hands.
Illegal mining I doubt will ever be truly stamped out in Africa. Cobalt isn’t the only resource being illegally mined.
these kids should be at school, playing w their friends, spending time w their families. they shouldnt be doing any of this. Big Tech is corrupt!!
We live in a world where PROFIT, is more important then human rights. And that means the Basic needs. We don't own the Earth. We never could but some individuals use the earth to create so much poverty n yes even death.
Who owns these mines is it Tesla is it Apple I don't think they own these mines they just have a demand how would you expect these countries to develop 200 years ago our own country had children working in difficult situations. Bleeding hearts will price this country out of the market and those people end up even poorer but no way to get ahead PREVENTING their development. Instead, they will starve to death or be at war with a gun in their hand.
If you want to help, donate to free schooling in the region.
How much are you willing to pay to see needed changes made? Because that’s what it will take.
Poor people, including children, have to have a way of earning money. Take this mining away and what do they have?
The Big Tech companies will have to apply the pressure to make conditions better and get more money to the miners, but the money it will take will come from the consumer’s pocket.
Maybe our issue isn’t what powers our productivity but over production itself. Maybe industrial capitalism is unsustainable past this unique period of history
People living in medieval age !!!! This world is a mess
Where's that same energy when it was LeBron disagreeing with the Chinese government
Shame on us
Everything we do heave side effects Everything.