I recently completed a short article on the connections between social justice and hardware for an upcoming issue of Access magazine. In the article I mention the use of conflict minerals in cell phones. Conflict minerals, which include the 3Ts (tin, tantalum, tungsten) and gold, are minerals mined to fund armed conflict and thereby contribute to human rights abuses, notably in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They are currently found in all consumer electronics products.

As mobile technology is a major focus for the profession, I believe that a greater awareness of this issue may help librarians and libraries make more informed decisions when purchasing technologies. I would encourage both individuals, institutions and our professional organizations to take an interest. In the same way that students are demanding conflict-free campuses, perhaps we should have conflict-free libraries.

For more information, follow the links below;

Blood in the Mobile (Documentary)

Raise Hope for Congo

Make it Fair

Wilder is the 21-year-old co-founder of the Free Network Foundation. Motherboard first caught up with Wilder at Zuccotti Park during the fledgling days of Occupy Wall Street. The Kansas City native seemed to be running on little sleep. He’d gone hoarse from chanting relentlessly over the first three days of a populist movement that would soon sweep the country and the world. But there was an undeniable urgency and excitement when Wilder told us about the efforts of the FNF, a non-profit, peer-to-peer communications initiative striving to liberate the global Internet from corporate and governmental interference.

I had the pleasure of meeting Isaac at Contact Summit in NYC last year and got to see his tech in action. Librarians should certainly check out The Free Network Foundation and give them their support.