Supreme Court ends lawsuit accusing Cisco of aiding China's surveillance of Falun Gong
The Supreme Court ruled for Cisco Systems in Cisco Systems v. Doe, ending a lawsuit by Falun Gong members who alleged the company tailored technology for China’s “Golden Shield” surveillance system knowing it would be used to identify, detain and torture believers. The 13 plaintiffs first sued in 2011.
The justices held that US courts are the wrong forum for the claims, rejecting arguments that the suit could proceed under the Alien Tort Statute , a 1789 law, and the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991. The Court also held that the TVPA does not allow “aiding-and-abetting” liability — the theory on which the case against Cisco rested.
The decision continues a line of rulings that have steadily narrowed the Alien Tort Statute, which human-rights advocates have spent years trying to use against multinational corporations for conduct abroad. In dissent, justices warned that the ruling “closes the courthouse doors” not only to these plaintiffs but to nearly any future litigant seeking redress for violations of international law under the statute. The practical result is to sharply limit the avenues for holding US companies liable in American courts for assisting overseas abuses.