A civil suit filed Wednesday argues that two nature-based projects Apple cites to back claims of carbon neutrality are areas where trees would be growing regardless of whether the tech company was involved.
"Apple's carbon neutrality claims are false and misleading because both projects fail to provide genuine, additional carbon reductions," the suit contends.
Apple, however, rejects the claims, telling AFP Thursday the company had "drastically cut emissions for Apple Watch by over 75 percent, and we are investing significantly in nature-based projects to remove hundreds of thousands of metric tons of carbon from the air."
The US tech giant claims to have retired 485,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents primarily through the Chyulu Hills Project in Kenya and the Guinan Project in China, according to the suit.
The Chyulu Hills Project purports to generate carbon credits by preventing deforestation but is on land that has been legally protected from deforestation since 1983, the suit maintains.
The Guinan Project claims to have planted trees on barren land but the area was already heavily forested before the project began, according to the suit.
Plaintiffs in the case are asking for class-action status to represent everyone who has bought the Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Ultra 2, or the second-generation Apple Watch SE.
"Companies engage in greenwashing to capitalize on growing environmental consciousness while avoiding the costs and challenges of achieving genuine sustainability," the complaint argued.
"Carbon neutrality claims based on offsetting are particularly susceptible to greenwashing when companies rely on ineffective or redundant offset projects that fail to deliver genuine environmental benefits."
Apple unveils new child safety features amid age verification debate
San Francisco (AFP) Feb 27, 2025 -
Apple unveiled Thursday a series of initiatives aimed at enhancing safety for children and teens using its devices, as it fends off calls that it more directly check the age of its users.
The changes came amid growing legislative pressure in US states, including Utah and South Carolina, which have proposed bills requiring app store operators to verify children's ages by uploading official documents and obtain parental consent before minors download apps.
In a notable shift, Apple will introduce a new Declared Age Range function that will allow developers to access age information volunteered by parents during an Apple child account setup.
This approach represents a compromise between Apple's historical stance of pushing age verification on app creators and the position of companies like Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, that app stores should handle verification.
The two tech behemoths, as well as Google which owns the Android operating system, have bitterly fought over the issue as big tech companies face increasing parental frustration on harmful content reaching children and teens.
Under the new system, which was announced in a paper published by Apple, the company said it was also streamlining the creation of child accounts, which are mandatory for users under 13 and optional for those up to 18.
Parents can now select their child's age range during setup and verify their status already on file with Apple.
In the Apple app store itself, product pages for third-party apps will feature additional information to guide parents, including details about user-generated content, advertisements, and available parental controls.
Apple said some features are already available in the latest operating system updates, with the complete rollout of the age rating system and other features expected later this year.
In response to the update, a Meta spokesperson told AFP the move was "a positive first step," but added it did not go far enough.
"Parents tell us they want to have the final say over the apps their teens use, and that's why we support legislation that requires app stores to verify a child's age and get a parent's approval before their child downloads an app," the company said.
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