Apple Store Closes Protest In Washington Occurs At The Peak Of Black Friday

Protests accusing Apple of engaging in child labor exploitation practices force the Apple Store at the University Village (photo: x @LynnanneNguyen)

JAKARTA A protest accusing Apple of engaging in child labor exploitation practices forced the Apple Store at the University Village, Seattle, Washington, to close its operations early on Black Friday.

According to a report by local news station KomoNews, the protests disrupted the sale of Black Friday which is one of the biggest shopping moments of the year. The demonstrators focused their attention on issues related to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Palestine. Police finally warned the remaining demonstrators that they were deemed to have violated territorial borders.

"This is one of the biggest shopping days of the year," Flowers Smith, one of the demonstrators, told KomoNews. "This is the day they [Apple] make the most of the hard work of children, even the five-year-old, in the mine."

"This is the day we can fight back and say we won't let this happen again," Smith added.

The protests follow similar actions in April 2024 at the Apple Store Lincoln Park, Chicago. At that time, the demonstration was carried out partly because of Apple's alleged actions against an employee wearing pro-Palestinian clothing.

In addition, allegations against Apple regarding tin 3T mining materials, tungsten, and tantalum which are thought to have originated from conflict areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo are also in the spotlight. Apple has denied the claim before.

Reports did not mention the number of demonstrators at the Apple Store University Village, but video footage from the location showed between six and eight people. The demonstrators were seen starting to pack up to leave the location around 3 pm local time. It's unclear if they left because the shop had been closed or for other reasons.

The Apple Store University Village, which opened in 2018, was originally planned to operate until 8 p.m. on Black Friday. However, this incident forced an early shutdown, hitting Apple on one of its most important sales days.