Supreme Court rules U.S. courts cannot hear lawsuit accusing Cisco of aiding China's persecution of Falun Gong

The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted tech giant Cisco's bid to shut down a lawsuit claiming that the company's technology was used to persecute members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement in China.

The justices ruled that American courts are the wrong forum for the suits, rejecting arguments made by the plaintiffs that the suits should go forward under the 18th-century Alien Tort Statute and the Torture Victim Protection Act, first enacted in 1991.

The decision was the latest to rule against plaintiffs seeking to use U.S. courts as a venue to seek justice over the acts of foreign governments, especially those that took place abroad.