Support Falun Gong's lawsuit against Cisco

 Direct translation

U.S. Lawmakers urge Trump administration to Support Falun Gong's Lawsuit against Cisco

Editor: Liu Mingxiang / Publisher : News Focus Production Team / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2025/10/30/a104034215.html / Image : The company logo in front of Cisco's headquarters in San Jose, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The Associated Press reported on 30 October 2025 that two senior Republican members of the US House of Representatives have called on the Supreme Court to allow a lawsuit against tech giant Cisco to proceed. The lawsuit alleges that Cisco's technology was used to assist the Chinese Communist Party in persecuting Falun Gong practitioners.

New Jersey Representative Chris Smith and Michigan Representative John Moolenaar wrote to Chief Litigator for the US Supreme Court, D. John Sauer, on the 29th, urging the Trump administration to support the Falun Gong plaintiffs and push the court to proceed with the trial.

Smith is co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), and Mullerner is chairman of the House Select Committee on China; both have long criticized Beijing's human rights record.

The letter cites an earlier Associated Press investigation that pointed to significant involvement by U.S. technology companies in designing and building the Chinese Communist Party's surveillance system, emphasizing the need to prevent U.S. companies from providing the CCP with technology that aids persecution.

The Supreme Court is currently considering whether to hear Cisco's appeal. Cisco argues that U.S. law should not allow such lawsuits. The court has requested the Attorney General to submit comments on the case, making the Trump administration's position closely watched; these comments are expected to be submitted by the end of this year or early next year.

The two lawmakers wrote in the letter: "The accusation that an American technology company tailors tools to aid the CCP in its persecution of religious minorities is extremely serious, and we believe the plaintiff should have the opportunity to prove its claims."

A Cisco spokesperson responded that the company is "always committed to respecting human rights" and warned that if the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling remains in effect, it will "open the floodgates for U.S. companies to face lawsuits for legally exporting standard products."

This case has been ongoing for over a decade. Documents released in 2008 revealed that Cisco viewed the Chinese Communist Party's "Golden Shield Project" as a business opportunity. An Associated Press-reviewed Cisco presentation showed that the company's products could identify over 90% of Falun Gong-related information on the internet. Other documents indicated that Cisco also assisted in establishing a nationwide database for tracking Falun Gong practitioners.

In 2011, Falun Gong practitioners sued Cisco, accusing the company of knowingly providing support for its technology, which they claimed would be used to persecute believers.

The core issue of the case is whether U.S. companies can be held liable for aiding and abetting persecution under the Alien Torts Act (ATS) or the Torture Victims Protection Act (TVPA). Cisco argued it should not be held liable but an appeals court rejected its claim in 2023, allowing the case to proceed. Cisco is now asking the Supreme Court to overturn that ruling.

The report points out that this case not only involves human rights but is also closely related to the U.S.-China technology confrontation. Technology exports have once again become one of the most sensitive focal points in U.S.-China relations.