Cobalt mining and conflict in the Congo

An artisanal miner holds a cobalt stone at the Shabara artisanal mine in the DRC.

The exploitation of cobalt for mobile phone batteries in the Congo has been associated with conflict and human rights abuses, highlighting the ethical concerns in the mobile industry’s supply chain. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) mined 69% of the world’s cobalt in 2020. The UN declared that the number of internally displaced people had reached a record high of 6.9 million as resurgence of the M23 rebels renders a growing part of the country unsafe for civilians.

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Materials & Waste 2020s

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Cobalt mining and conflict in the Congo

An artisanal miner holds a cobalt stone at the Shabara artisanal mine in the DRC.

The exploitation of cobalt for mobile phone batteries in the Congo has been associated with conflict and human rights abuses, highlighting the ethical concerns in the mobile...

Apple slows down older phones in 'batterygate'

Image of a person holding their iPhone plugged in to charge with the battery drain notification displayed on the phone.

Apple acknowledges that they slow down older iPhones through software updates. This acknowledgment reignites discussions about planned obsolescence, product longevity, and...

“We noticed protest posters: 'You will drink lithium, you will eat copper.'”

– Ligaya, Atacama Desert, Chile

Digital Right to Repair Coalition forms

Person wearing gloves removes a cracked screen from a phone.

Advocates for the right to repair mobile devices are pushing for legislation that would allow consumers to repair their devices independently. The Right to Repair movement...

Transform the tech industry from inside.

Take Action Photo of a hand holding the 2021 yearbook, which is a collection of the community’s work over 12 weeks.

Collective Action School has a grassroots theory of change. We believe the people who make the tech industry run—its workers—have the power to not only transform it, but to build and imagine new technologies. They welcome all tech workers—whether you’re a project manager, warehouse worker, software engineer, or ride share driver.