The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit did not block a June 2 deadline for companies to report any conflict minerals to the Security and Exchange Commission. Previously, the court had excluded a section of the rule which was requiring companies to publicly disclose the use of minerals or products that were not “conflict free.” However, the court held that this provision was in violation of a company’s First Amendment rights since it forced a company to admit to the use.
The latest ruling holding the June 2 deadline firm requires companies to report any use of the four minerals which are tied to the arms conflicts in the region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, specifically tin, tungsten, gold and tantalum. Companies do not have to inform the public of the use of products that are not conflict free, but they must still be diligent about revealing the source of their minerals so that they do not benefit armed groups.
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