Two lawsuits by three Chinese dissidents and a human rights group accusing Cisco...of abetting imprisonment and torture could have far-reaching impact on how U.S. technology companies conduct business in authoritarian regimes. The lawsuits filed in May and June target a second technology company for complicity in human rights abuses in China after Yahoo...in 2007 paid to settle a case in which it was accused of aiding the prosecution of dissidents. Both cases could provide answers to an evolving legal question: Can U.S. companies be held liable if foreign governments use their products for repression?..."Cisco does not operate networks in China or elsewhere, nor does Cisco customize our products in any way that would facilitate censorship or repression," Cook [Cisco's communications director] said...But Daniel Ward, the lawyer representing the...dissidents, said that Cisco "built the entire backbone" of China's Golden Shield Project...