14 DAY TRIAL // High-profile electronics manufacturers, including Apple and Intel, are being urged to reconsider the use of minerals that could be fueling violence in Congo, following the inclusion of an amendment in the financial overhaul bill completed on Friday. These companies are being urged to make annual Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosures about the materials they use, as well as their origins, while end users are being encouraged send this message to their products’ vendors by means of petitioning.
Some of the elements known as conflict-minerals include tantalum (good at storing electricity), tungsten (used in a phone’s vibrating motor), tin (for its circuit boards), and gold (used to coat wiring), according to Jon Prendergast, founder of The Enough Project, an anti-genocide group which directly links Congo violence to the world’s largest technology companies. Apple is specifically targeted in the organization’s latest effort to spread the word about this upsetting truth, via an ad spoofing Apple’s "I'm a Mac; I'm a PC" campaign.
“Hello, I'm a Mac, and I'm helping fuel the war in the Congo -- the deadliest war in the world”, reads the video’s description on The Enough Project’s YouTube page. “So are PCs, cell phones, digital cameras and other electronics. That's what Apple's famous ads don't tell you. So actor/activist Brooke Smith and cinematographer Steven Lubensky teamed up with actors Joshua Malina and John Lehr to create a version that sets the record straight”, the description ends. The ad in question is available for viewing at the bottom of this report.
"A year ago most members of Congress hadn't even heard of conflict minerals", said Prendergast, according to The Hill’s Hillicon Valley blog. "In the middle of a turbulent legislative calendar, activists all over the country were heard loudly and clearly: we demand conflict-free products and we expect our legislators to do all they can to ensure that".