Apple Admits to Child Labor

The company’s been dodging criticism about the new iPad, but now Apple has a much more serious problem on its hands after a new report shows a litany of abuses in company factories. An annual report for the company revealed that at least 11 15-year-old children were employed in three factories used by the company, presumed to be in China. This is not the first time the company has come under fire for poor conditions in its factories, and as recently as last week 62 workers were poisoned by the toxic chemical n-hexane. A number of problems are tied to factories run by Taiwanese company Foxconn, which China Labor Watch has described as having “inhumane and militant management” which in one instance caused an employee to leap to his death after accusations that he stole an iPhone prototype. Apple has ordered extensive reviews of the factories in question but has not stopped using them to manufacture products.