Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that his office reached a settlement with Meta over a 2022 lawsuit relating to the unauthorized collection of biometric data.
The $1.4 billion settlement will be paid over five years.
“After vigorously pursuing justice for our citizens whose privacy rights were violated by Meta’s use of facial recognition software, I’m proud to announce that we have reached the largest settlement ever obtained from an action brought by a single State,” Paxton said.
“This historic settlement demonstrates our commitment to standing up to the world’s biggest technology companies and holding them accountable for breaking the law and violating Texans’ privacy rights. Any abuse of Texans’ sensitive data will be met with the full force of the law.”
Paxton sued Meta in 2022 for collecting Texans’ biometric data without their informed consent.
“Facebook has, for over a decade, built an Artificial Intelligence empire on the backs of Texans by deceiving them while capturing their most intimate data, thereby putting their well-being, safety, and security at risk,” the lawsuit read.
Meta’s actions violated Texas’ “Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier” Act (“CUBI”) and the Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
Since 2011, Meta has incorporated biometric features, such as facial recognition, to scan faces in photos uploaded to the social media platform. The technology made it easier for users to “tag” people in photos.
The settlement is the “largest ever obtained from an action brought by a single State,” according to a press release. “Further, this is the largest privacy settlement an Attorney General has ever obtained, dwarfing the $390 million settlement a group of 40 states obtained in late 2022 from Google.”
