Meta agreed pay $1.4 billion settle a matter legal motion until State of Texas concerning the unauthorized use of users’ biometric data by the Facebook owner, Attorney General of Texas, Ken Paxton said on Tuesday.
The lawsuit, filed by Paxton in February 2022, accuses Meta of collecting and using the biometric data of hundreds of thousands of Texas residents – contained in photos and videos uploaded to Facebook – without the authorization required by law.
The attorney general's office said Facebook stored billions of biometric identifiers without customers' consent after the corporate introduced a brand new feature called “Tag Suggestions” in 2011.
“Unbeknownst to most Texans, for over a decade Meta ran facial recognition software on virtually every face in the photos uploaded to Facebook, recording the facial geometry of the people depicted,” Paxton's office said.
The office said Meta did so despite knowing that the Texas Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act prohibits corporations from collecting biometric identifiers from Texans without first informing them and obtaining their consent.
The settlement with Meta, filed in Texas District Court in Harrison County, is the biggest ever reached by a single state lawsuit, in keeping with Paxton's office.
Meta can pay the $1.4 billion to Texas over five years, the office said.
“This historic settlement demonstrates our commitment to standing up to the world's largest technology companies and holding them accountable for breaking the law and violating Texans' right to privacy,” Paxton said Tuesday in an announcement concerning the Meta case.
“Any misuse of sensitive Texans’ data will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Paxton said.
A Meta spokesperson told CNBC, “We are pleased to resolve this matter and look forward to exploring future opportunities to deepen our business investments in Texas, including potential data center development.”
Although the agreement was only announced on Tuesday, in keeping with The Guardian, it was reached almost two months ago, on the eve of the court hearing scheduled for June. McKool Smiththe law firm that represented Texas within the lawsuit, together with the law firm Keller Postman.
McKool Smith said Tuesday that the parties had asked the judge on the time to pause the proceedings to provide the parties a possibility to formalize the terms of the deal before it’s announced.
Paxton's office continues to pursue a lawsuit against alphabetduring which the Google owner is accused of illegally collecting biometric data from hundreds of thousands of Texans.
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