Supreme Court Takes On Cisco's Controversial Human Rights Appeal

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear Cisco Systems' appeal to limit a federal law used to hold corporations accountable for human rights abuses abroad. This follows a 2023 ruling reviving a lawsuit against Cisco for aiding China's crackdown on Falun Gong members, highlighting legal questions around the Alien Tort Statute.

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal by tech giant Cisco Systems and the Trump administration, following a 2023 ruling that revived a 2011 lawsuit alleging the company aided China's human rights violations against Falun Gong practitioners. The lawsuit, which Cisco labels unfounded, seeks damages for the company's alleged involvement in surveillance technology sold to China.

The case pivots on the Alien Tort Statute, a 1789 U.S. law increasingly used since the 1980s for international human rights cases, and the Torture Victim Protection Act. Cisco, backed by the Trump-era government, wants the Supreme Court to curtail the reach of these statutes. The plaintiffs claim Cisco executives facilitated torture by Chinese officials.

Cisco executives welcomed the decision for a Supreme Court review, anticipating arguments by June. Meanwhile, Falun Gong, which faces persecution in China, has supporters who allege Cisco's system enabled authorities to track down and torture members. The Supreme Court's decision will have implications for corporate accountability in human rights cases involving U.S. firms.

(With inputs from agencies.)