Cisco sued for abetting China human rights violations

Falun Gong members are suing Cisco Systems (CSCO.NYSE) for aiding human rights violations by the Chinese government against the religious movement, the Wall Street Journal reported. The class-action lawsuit alleges that Cisco was involved in the production of “Golden Shield,” a surveillance system used by the government to crack down on the Falun Gong. Cisco garnered opprobrium in 2002 due to an internal company presentation, which included a slide quoting a Chinese government source arguing that Golden Shield was designed to destroy the Falun Gong movement, among others. Cisco said that it was “appalled” by the presentation, which did not reflect company policy. The lawsuit comes shortly after a group of eight New York residents launched a suit against Baidu for aiding censorship in China, underscoring the risk that US-based or US-listed firms with operations in China could be exposed to litigation for human rights violations.