Supreme Court Dismisses Cisco Lawsuit Over China Surveillance Claims

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday granted Cisco Systems' request to dismiss a lawsuit accusing the company of helping China persecute Falun Gong members. The justices held that American courts are not the proper forum for the claims, which were brought under the 1789 Alien Tort Statute and the 1991 Torture Victim Protection Act.

Falun Gong members filed the suit in 2011. They alleged that Cisco knowingly designed and built parts of China's Golden Shield internet surveillance system used to track, detain, and torture believers. A federal judge dismissed the case in 2014.

The Ninth Circuit revived it in 2023 after finding the plaintiffs had plausibly alleged that Cisco provided essential technical assistance with awareness that violations were substantially likely. Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote for the majority that the court was closing a door it had opened slightly in 2004.

The Supreme Court had already narrowed the statute in 2013 and 2018 rulings that require a strong connection between the alleged conduct and actions inside the United States.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett stated in the majority opinion that the class of viable claims is a null set. Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented, writing that the ruling closes courthouse doors to virtually every future litigant seeking redress for violations of international law under the statute. Cisco called the allegations unfounded and offensive.

The company had previously disputed claims that its products were tailored to target Falun Gong material. An Associated Press investigation last year documented how American technology companies designed and built much of China's surveillance infrastructure.

The reporting showed Cisco presentations from 2008 that described Falun Gong material as a threat and claimed the company's products could identify over 90 percent of such content online.