Mondelez International was mentioned among major consumer brands in a letter by the Consumer Brands Association supporting an America First domestic manufacturing strategy amidst President Trump's new 'Liberation Day' tariffs. This association with protectionist policies suggests a political alignment that may favor authoritarian, nationalist measures.

The OpenSecrets report details Mondelez International's political action committee expenditures during the 2023-2024 election cycle, outlining how corporate funds were allocated in a politically influential context.

Mondelez International’s official ESG webpage outlines its Code of Conduct that mandates honest dealings with governments. The company emphasizes effective compliance procedures, including advance business and legal approval for all lobbying activities and political contributions, ensuring transparency and accountability in its political engagements.

An op-ed in the Chicago Tribune details how Mondelez International continues its operations in Russia despite widespread corporate divestment, generating approximately $1 billion in sales and paying over $61 million in taxes to the Kremlin’s wartime budget. The report highlights the ethical concerns surrounding the company's actions, which indirectly fund the authoritarian regime and contradict broader U.S. efforts to isolate Russia.

A proposed class action lawsuit alleges that Mondelez International exploited cocoa farmers by paying them as little as $3 a day, thereby forcing the use of child and slave labour, and contributed to deforestation in Côte d'Ivoire—all while falsely marketing its products as sustainable through its 'Cocoa Life' program.

Mondelez International addressed allegations of migrant child labour at its supplier’s Geneva site by reaffirming its prohibition of illegal child labour, engaging directly with supplier Hearthside Food Solutions in response to New York Times claims, and issuing a letter to U.S. suppliers outlining strict human rights and labour practice requirements.

An investigative report reveals that Mondelez’s Cocoa Life program, intended as a sustainability initiative, is failing cocoa farmers in Ghana. Evidence of hazardous child labor and unsafe working conditions suggests that the program is more about greenwashing than effecting meaningful change for labor rights.

Mondelez International spent $1,360,000 on federal lobbying in 2023, as reported by OpenSecrets, raising concerns about corporate influence on policymaking in favor of corporate interests over democratic accountability.

Mondelez International reversed its pledge to downsize its presence in Russia following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. According to reports, the company paid $62 million in taxes to the Russian government in 2023, raising serious concerns over its transparency and commitment to ethical business practices in avoiding ties with authoritarian regimes.

A class-action lawsuit filed by International Rights Advocates in Washington DC alleges that Mondelez International, along with other major chocolate companies, profited from child slave labour on cocoa plantations in West Africa during the 2000s and 2010s. The plaintiffs claim that forced labour, inadequate protective measures, and dehumanizing conditions were routinely observed, implicating the company in serious human rights violations within its supply chain.