When: Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Facebook parent company in 2022, alleging the unauthorized use of personal biometric data.
Facebook’s parent company, Meta, has agreed to pay $1.4 billion to settle a lawsuit with the state of Texas. The lawsuit accused the company of using personal biometric data without user consent.
Filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in 2022, the lawsuit alleged that Meta used facial recognition software on photos uploaded to Facebook without obtaining consent from Texas residents. The settlement, announced by Paxton on Monday, marks a significant victory for privacy rights.
“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 stated.
According to Paxton’s office, this settlement is the largest ever obtained by a single state and the most substantial privacy-related settlement secured by a state attorney general. The $1.4 billion will be paid over five years.
This lawsuit was the first of its kind argued by Paxton’s office under a 2009 Texas law designed to protect biometric data such as fingerprints and facial scans. The law mandates that businesses must inform individuals and obtain their consent before collecting biometric data. Additionally, it restricts the sharing of this data except in specific circumstances, such as aiding law enforcement or completing financial transactions. Businesses are also required to protect the data and destroy it within a year after it is no longer needed.
In 2011, Meta introduced a feature called Tag Suggestions to simplify the tagging process in photos. According to Paxton’s office, this feature, which was enabled by default, used facial recognition technology on users’ photos, thereby collecting biometric data without explicit consent in violation of the 2009 law.
This settlement underscores the importance of privacy rights and the need for businesses to adhere to laws protecting personal data.
