Thread by @EFF

In Nestlé v. Doe, the Supreme Court narrowed one of the few tools that can be used to bring justice to victims of human rights abuses enabled by surveillance and censorship tools sold by U.S. companies.

eff.org/deeplinks/2021…

The Court held that making “operational decisions” in the U.S. is not a sufficient basis for jurisdiction against a company under the Alien Tort Statute, a law that specifically incorporates international law into U.S. law.

EFF filed an amicus brief warning that governments around the world have relied on U.S. technology companies like Cisco and Sandvine to build the tools of repression.

eff.org/deeplinks/2020…

But technology companies that purpose-build repressive tools—like Cisco’s specific internet surveillance tool built to help the Chinese government track and target the Falun Gong—should not be off the hook.

The Nestlé case points to the need for Congress to step in to update that 1789 Alien Tort Statute to ensure that companies face accountability when they take on the role of “repression’s little helper.”