A federal appeals court refused to hold five major technology companies liable over their alleged support for the use of child labour 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 favour of Google parent Alphabet, Apple, Dell Technologies, Microsoft and Tesla rejecting an appeal by former child miners and their representatives. The plaintiffs accused the five companies of joining suppliers in a "forced labour" venture by purchasing cobalt, which is used to make lithium-ion batteries that are widely used in electronics. Nearly…