Kinshasa, December 20 (RHC)-- In the Democratic Republic of Congo, families are suing some of the world’s biggest tech companies after their children were killed or injured working in the country’s cobalt mines. 

The lawsuit accuses Apple, Google, Microsoft, Tesla and others of knowing that the cobalt used in their products could be linked to child labor.  The families say extreme poverty drove their children to work in the dangerous mines, where they were paid as little as $2 a day. 

Some of the children were buried alive in tunnel collapses, while others were paralyzed or maimed.  Democratic Republic of Congo produces 60% of the global supply of cobalt, which is used to produce the lithium batteries that power electric cars, laptops and smartphones.