Meta Settles Texas Lawsuit for $1.4 Billion Over Unauthorized Biometric Data Use

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said that Meta has agreed to pay a record $1.4 billion to settle a lawsuit involving the unauthorised use of biometric data by users on Facebook.

Paxton filed the claim in February 2022, accusing Meta of obtaining and utilising millions of Texas residents’ biometric data, which was contained in submitted images and videos on Facebook, without the legally required permissions.

According to the attorney general’s office, Facebook retained billions of biometric identifiers without customers’ permission after releasing a new function in 2011 called “Tag Suggestions.”

“Unbeknownst to most Texans, for more than a decade Meta ran facial recognition software on virtually every face contained in the photographs uploaded to Facebook, capturing records of the facial geometry of the people depicted,” according to Paxton’s office.

The agency stated that Meta did this despite being aware that Texas’ Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act prohibits corporations from gathering biometric identifiers of Texans without first informing and gaining their consent.

In late 2021, Meta shut down their Face Recognition system on Facebook, citing “growing concerns about the use of this technology as a whole.”

According to Paxton’s office, the lawsuit settlement with Meta was filed in Texas state district court in Harrison County and is the highest ever secured as a consequence of a single state’s action.

Meta will pay Texas $1.4 billion over a five-year period, according to the office.

“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,” Paxton said in a statement on Tuesday regarding the Meta case.

“Any abuse of Texans’ sensitive data will be met with the full force of the law,” Paxton informed the crowd.

A Meta spokeswoman stated to CNBC: “We are pleased to resolve this matter, and look forward to exploring future opportunities to deepen our business investments in Texas, including potentially developing data centres.”

The settlement was struck over two months ago, on the eve of a scheduled June trial, according to McCool Smith, the law firm representing Texas in the claim, and Keller Postman.

McKool Smith said on Tuesday that the parties had asked the judge in the case at the time to suspend proceedings so that they could formalise the details of the agreement before it was announced.

Paxton’s office is pursuing a lawsuit against Alphabet, alleging the company improperly collected biometric data from millions of Texans.