Since his election in November Donald Trump has reiterated his intention to undertake mass deportations, dramatically reduce the size of government, and reverse long-standing government policies relating to health care, environmental protection, and many other issues. I have addressed some of these likely changes in a previous Forbes piece and will tackle them again in the months ahead. But at year-end, here are ten specific human rights challenges facing businesses more generally.
- Combatting Online Disinformation and Harmful Content
Political disinformation and other harmful content online continues to exacerbate polarization and undermine democratic discourse. And yet most of the major social media companies have retreated from their commitments to moderate such content. Since 2022, Elon Musk has dramatically degraded X’s capacity to address disinformation and other harmful content. As a senior advisor to Trump and the president-elect’s top individual donor, he has advanced the spurious claim that social media platforms have targeted conservative content for removal or reduced visibility. Several early nominees of the new administration including new FCC chairman Brendan Carr and FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson have echoed this falsehood, with Carr calling the big social media firms the “censorship cartel.” The leading social media platforms need to challenge these assertions and do much more to moderate their sites to remove, reduce, or juxtapose online disinformation, extremism, and other harmful online content.
- Confronting Extremism on Gaming Sites
More than three billion people around the globe participate in online gaming sites, a $200 billion dollar a year industry. While these spaces provide valuable entertainment for many, they continue to be exploited by extremist actors looking to radicalize young, impressionable players. In some cases, extremist radicalization in online gaming and gaming-adjacent sites has led to real-world violence. In the last year, some major companies have taken important steps to identify and root out such vitriol, but many in the industry lag behind. This year, our Center at NYU Stern launched a multi-stakeholder working group to advance informed and constructive regulation of the industry, which includes companies, regulators, academic experts, and representatives of civil society. In the coming year, more leading companies in this industry should join this effort. They should also adopt cutting-edge technology to improve their detection of violent extremist content and communications
- Addressing Human Rights Issues in Cobalt Mining
The demand for critical minerals used in transitional technologies continues to grow. One example is cobalt, which has essential cooling properties for batteries used in electric vehicles. Almost 80% of the world’s cobalt is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo and between 15-30% of that amount is produced in informal, or artisanal (ASM), mines. More than 25,000 children work at these informal sites, and there are serious mine safety issues. ASM cobalt is routinely co-mingled with cobalt from mechanized mining, making the two impossible to distinguish. It is not credible for auto companies and other buyers to disclaim any responsibility for addressing human rights issues in ASM mining sites because they do not own or operate the mines. These challenges can be addressed by the “formalization” of ASM mine sites, which means putting fences around active mining areas, hiring guards, and developing strict safety protocols. This should be a priority for the auto and electronics industries in 2025, which are the major economic beneficiaries of cobalt mining.
- Protecting Migrant Construction Workers in the Gulf
This month the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) announced that Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 World Cup. A recent report commissioned by FIFA evaluating the Saudi bid, concluded that holding the event in the kingdom would create “medium” human rights risks. Over the next decade, tens of thousands of migrant construction workers will build world-class stadiums, roads, hotels, and other facilities for the World Cup, mostly coming from South Asia. The vast majority of these workers will be working in the extreme heat, in often unsafe work environments, and where their wages are often withheld. They will be expected to pay their own recruiting costs, typically the equivalent of a year’s wages. FIFA, World Cup sponsors, and other businesses that obtain commercial benefits from the World Cup should demand an end to this exploitative practice and treat the well-being of these workers as a priority issue.
- Responding to Human Rights in Xinjiang China
China accounts for close to 40% of the world’s manufacturing, and is the second-largest consumer market in the world, after the U.S. China’s massive economy makes it a magnet for Western companies. At the same time, the Chinese government continues to commit widespread human rights violations, especially in Xinjiang province, where hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs are subjected to forced labor. In 2022, the U.S. Congress adopted the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. Marco Rubio, now Trump’s selection to be Secretary of State, was an original co-sponsor. This law, which garnered wide bipartisan Congressional support, effectively prohibits the import of products containing parts from Xinjiang into the U.S. The law has a significant effect on apparel made with Xinjiang cotton (about 80% of Chinese cotton) and solar panels, most of which contain polysilicon ingots and wafers made in Xinjiang. Western companies should build alternative supply chains for these products, and eventually develop smart, collective strategies for challenging China’s forced labor policy in Xinjiang.
- Adapting to Evolving EU Regulations of Corporate Conduct
Earlier this year the European Union (EU) adopted the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). Approved after several years of contentious debate, this new directive requires EU member states to adopt national laws that will provide a basis for regulating corporate conduct on human rights and the environment. In November, the president of the European Commission announced plans to merge the CSDDD and a second provision, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) into one “omnibus” law to reduce bureaucracy and streamline reporting obligations. Some critics are concerned that companies will use this consolidation as an opportunity to scale back commitments that already have been approved. As these laws take effect, companies, including U.S. companies doing business in Europe, should cease efforts to water down these laws. Instead, they should focus on building internal systems to comply with these standards, including for workers in their global supply chains.
- Overcoming the Gender Divide
A World Bank study published earlier this year concludes that a significant gender gap still exists in workplaces in many countries, resulting in lower pay and fewer job opportunities for women. In the U.S., the problem is not a lack of training or formal education; today, more than 50% of graduates of four-year U.S. colleges are women, and they constitute a majority in law, business, and other graduate schools. Several factors contribute to the problem. One relates to the challenges women face in balancing work and family, which companies can do more to accommodate. A second factor is that too few business leaders acknowledge or address unconscious bias. Achieving gender equality is the right and ethical thing to do, and it makes sense from a purely economic perspective. Making women truly equal is an achievable goal that will benefit everyone in society. It should be a priority for men and women and is long overdue.
- Holding the Line in Promoting Racial Inclusion, Equity and Diversity
A year ago, McKinsey published a study that concluded that “companies with diverse leadership teams continue to be associated with higher financial returns.” Despite this and other empirical support for promoting greater workplace diversity, these programs are under attack. Elon Musk has charged, “DEI is just another word for racism.” Bill Ackman, the CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, has denounced DEI as a “racist and illegal movement.” Responding to these short-sighted critiques, companies like Ford, Walmart, and John Deere have abandoned their DEI programs. At least 84 anti-DEI bills have been introduced in 28 US states, 12 of which have become law. More business leaders need to maintain and strengthen these programs. Following the example of Mark Cuban, the businessman, television personality, and a part owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team, who said, “Having a workforce that is diverse and representative of your stakeholders is good for business.”
There are currently more than 110 violent conflicts worldwide, a number that continues to grow. In Sudan alone, the United Nations estimates that an internal conflict has left 25 million people, half the country’s population, in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. In Sudan and many other countries in Africa, armed conflicts are rooted, at least in part, in struggles over control of natural resources. And too often, oil and mining companies have relied on rights-violating local governments or ill-trained private security forces to protect their operations. While these private sector companies cannot be expected to resolve these conflicts, they do have an affirmative obligation to ensure that their business operations don’t help finance or exacerbate strife and bloodshed.
- Taking the Lead in Support of the Rule of Law
Businesses thrive in an environment where the rule of law is respected and where government institutions are staffed by civil servants whose actions transcend partisan politics. They flourish in open societies where a free press helps to ensure a well-informed population and where civil society organizations are free to hold government officials publicly accountable for their actions. In the current political environment in the U.S., all of these attributes of a healthy democracy are being tested. Broad public trust in the integrity of government is at stake. As the new administration takes actions that are violative of these democratic principles and undermine the rule of law, business executives should exercise principled leadership, now needed more than ever.