Plaintiffs Lose Suit Against Cisco For Developing System Used To Track Falun Gong In China

In Doe I v. Cisco Systems, Inc., (ND CA, Sept. 5, 2014), a California federal district court dismissed a lawsuit by Falun Gong practitioners that claimed Cisco aided and abetted and conspired with the Chinese Communist Party and Public Security officers in committing human rights abuses against Falun Gong. Cisco created the Golden Shield security system that was used to intercept and track communications of Falun Gong, leading to their apprehension, arrest and torture. The court dismissed plaintiffs claims under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), holding that the actions were not suffciently related to the territory of the United States to overcome the presumptions against extraterritorial application of the ATS. It dismissed aiding and abetting claims, finding that it was not shown that Cisco had knowledge that its product would be used for torture and forced conversions.  Courthouse News Service reports on the decision.