The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Tuesday to dismiss a lawsuit accusing Cisco Systems of helping China persecute members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement.
The case, filed in 2011, alleged that Cisco knowingly helped develop the “Golden Shield,” a surveillance system used by Chinese authorities to monitor, detain, and allegedly torture Falun Gong members.
The movement, founded in 1992, was banned in China in 1999 as thousands of members silently protested against the ruling Chinese Communist Party.
The lawsuit was brought under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), a 1789 law that has been used for international human rights cases in US courts.
Writing for the majority, Justice Amy Coney Barrett said courts cannot create new legal claims under the ATS for companies accused of aiding and abetting human rights abuses abroad. The court’s six conservative justices backed the decision, while its three liberal justices dissented.
The ruling further narrows the reach of the ATS, following earlier Supreme Court decisions that limited lawsuits over overseas human rights violations.
Cisco denied the allegations, calling them unfounded. Plaintiffs said the decision makes it harder for victims to hold US corporations accountable and urged Congress to strengthen legal protections.