Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, has agreed to a $1.4 billion settlement with Texas to resolve a lawsuit accusing the company of illegally using facial recognition technology to collect biometric data of millions of Texans without their consent. The settlement, announced on July 30, 2024, is the largest ever obtained from an action brought by a single state.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who spearheaded the lawsuit, highlighted the unprecedented nature of the settlement. “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 stated. The lawsuit, filed in February 2022, marked the first major case under Texas’s “Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier” Act (CUBI) and the Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
The legal action targeted Meta’s “Tag Suggestions” feature, introduced in 2011, which automatically applied facial recognition software to photos uploaded by users to facilitate tagging. This feature was enabled by default for all users, capturing biometric data without the explicit informed consent required by Texas law. For over a decade, Meta collected facial geometry data from virtually every photo uploaded to Facebook by Texans.
The agreement, finalized in May just weeks before the trial was scheduled to commence, serves as a stark reminder to other companies about the critical importance of adhering to privacy regulations.
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Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, has agreed to a $1.4 billion settlement with Texas to resolve a lawsuit accusing the company of illegally using facial recognition technology to collect biometric data of millions of Texans without their consent. The settlement, announced on July 30, 2024, is the largest ever obtained from an action brought […]