Doe v. Cisco Systems, Inc. (Amicus)

At a Glance

Date Filed: 

January 11, 2016

Current Status 

CCR and EarthRights International submitted an amicus brief on January 11, 2016, arguing that the Northern District of California's dismissal of the case misinterpreted the Supreme Court's requirement that Alien Tort Statute cases "touch and concern" the United States as set forth in the Kiobel decision, particularly in cases involving U.S. defendants.

Co-Counsel 

EarthRights International

Client(s) 

Falun Gong practitioners, represented by the Human Rights Law Foundation, alleged to have been subjected to serious human rights abuses in China through the Cisco-developed “Golden Shield” project, a network security system used for the widespread censorship, surveillance, identification, tracking, apprehension, and torture of Chinese dissidents

Case Description 

Doe v. Cisco Systems, Inc. challenges the alleged role of Cisco Systems, Inc., a U.S. network technology corporation, in aiding and abetting serious human rights abuses against a group of Falun Gong practitioners in China. Cisco is alleged to have had a central role in the design and implementation of China’s “Golden Shield” project, a network security system used to facilitate the violent persecution of dissident groups. The plaintiffs were detained for visiting Falun Gong websites, discussing the practice of Falun Gong online, and sharing information about the widespread human rights abuses suffered by Falun Gong practitioners in China. While detained, they were beaten, deprived of sleep, forced to eat laundry detergent, electrocuted, drugged, and subjected to numerous other brutal human rights abuses. One of the plaintiffs was beaten to death while in custody, while another has disappeared and is presumed dead. CCR joined this amicus brief as part of our work to strengthen domestic accountability tools such as the Alien Tort Statute, challenging the district court's dismissal under the "touch and concern" test established in the Supreme Court's 2013 Kiobel decision.

Case Timeline

January 11, 2016
CCR and ERI file amicus brief
January 11, 2016
CCR and ERI file amicus brief

The brief argues that the Northern District of California's dismissal of the case misinterpreted the Supreme Court's standards for cases to "touch and concern" the United States set forth in the Kiobel decision. Briefs are also submitted by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues David Scheffer.

January 4, 2016
Plaintiffs appeal to Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
January 4, 2016
Plaintiffs appeal to Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Plaintiffs-appellants file their notice of appeal on September 24, 2015 and their opening brief on January 4, 2016.
August 31, 2015
Court denies plaintiffs' motion for reconsideration
August 31, 2015
Court denies plaintiffs' motion for reconsideration
Plaintiffs file a motion for reconsideration on October 3, 2014, which the court denies on August 31, 2015.
September 5, 2014
Case is dismissed
September 5, 2014
Case is dismissed

The district court dismisses the plaintiffs’ claims, finding that the claims do not touch and concern the United States because the human rights abuses were not planned, directed, or executed in the United States. It also holds that the fact that Cisco systems customized and implemented the Golden Shield system does not support an inference that the company knew that human rights abuses would be committed with it, and thus the requisite mens rea for aiding and abetting had not been pled.

September 18, 2013
Plaintiffs file second amended complaint in Northern District of California
September 18, 2013
Plaintiffs file second amended complaint in Northern District of California
The complaint includes claims of torture, forced labor, arbitrary detention, crimes against humanity, extrajudicial killing, enforced disappearance under the ATS, and false imprisonment arising from Cisco's development and customization of the Golden Shield system to target members of the Falun Gong religious minority.