Meta Platforms has reached a $1.4 billion settlement with Texas, resolving a lawsuit that accused the tech giant of using facial recognition technology to collect biometric data from millions of Texans without their consent. This settlement, announced on Tuesday, is considered the largest of its kind by any state, according to Texas’s legal team.
The lawsuit, filed in 2022, was the first significant case brought under Texas’s 2009 biometric privacy law. This law allows for damages of up to $25,000 per violation. The case centered around allegations that Facebook, under Meta, collected biometric data billions of times from photos and videos uploaded by users through a feature called “Tag Suggestions,” which has since been discontinued.
Meta expressed satisfaction with the resolution, stating its intention to explore future business investments in Texas, including potential data center developments. However, the company has not admitted to any wrongdoing.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton emphasized that the settlement demonstrates the state’s commitment to challenging major technology companies and holding them accountable for violating privacy laws and the rights of Texans.
The agreement between Texas and Meta was reached in May, just weeks before a scheduled trial was set to begin in state court. This settlement is not the first time Meta has faced such issues. In 2020, the company agreed to pay $650 million to settle a biometric privacy class action under Illinois’s stringent privacy law, also without admitting to any misconduct.
Meanwhile, Google, owned by Alphabet, is currently facing a separate lawsuit by Texas over alleged violations of the state’s biometric law. Meta’s substantial settlement with Texas highlights ongoing concerns and legal challenges surrounding biometric data privacy. The outcome reinforces the importance of regulatory compliance for tech companies and the growing scrutiny of their data collection practices.
