Smartphones have completely transformed our way of life, but the flip side of the increasing usage of these devices is that it’s leading to rising child labour in Africa.
Smartphones and electric cars run on lithium-ion batteries, in which a rare metal called cobalt is used. This metal is obtained from mines in African nations like Congo, where children have to work alongside adults in hand-dug mines.
Amnesty international has alleged that major tech companies are not doing enough to prevent use of child labour for obtaining cobalt, as children as young as seven work in mines.
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