“US Supreme Court to hear suit claiming Cisco helped China pursue Falun Gong”, 10 January 2026

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Friday to hear an appeal by Cisco Systems in which the tech company and President Donald Trump's administration are asking the justices to limit the reach of a federal law that has been used to hold corporations liable for human rights abuses committed abroad.

Cisco has appealed a 2023 ruling that breathed new life into a 2011 lawsuit that accused the California-based company of knowingly developing technology that allowed China's government to surveil and persecute members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement.

Cisco has called the lawsuit, which seeks monetary damages, unfounded and offensive, saying it sold technology to China that is expressly legal under U.S. trade policy.

The lawsuit was premised on the Alien Tort Statute… Cisco, with backing from the Trump administration, is asking the Supreme Court to use the case as an opportunity to limit the reach of the Alien Tort Statute.

The lawsuit also alleged a violation of the Torture Victim Protection Act, a 1991 law that allows for the filing of civil suits in U.S. courts against foreign officials who commit torture…

A Cisco spokesperson said the company is pleased with the court's decision to hear the case and looks forward to oral arguments. The Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments and rule by the end of June…