NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

A federal appeals court on Tuesday refused to hold five major technology companies liable over their alleged support for the use of child labor in cobalt mining operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In a 3-0 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab, Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab, Dell Technologies (DELL.N), opens new tab, Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab and Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab, rejecting an appeal by former child miners and their representatives.