In a significant legal settlement, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has agreed to pay $1.4 billion to the state of Texas over alleged violations of data privacy laws. The settlement, announced on July 30, 2024, marks the largest state-level data privacy settlement in U.S. history.
The lawsuit, initiated by Texas in 2022, accused Meta of illegally collecting biometric information from millions of Texans without their consent. Specifically, the state alleged that Meta violated the Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act and the Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The violations were tied to a 2011 Facebook feature that used facial recognition technology to automatically suggest tags with people’s names in photos, without their explicit consent.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, emphasized the importance of this settlement in upholding 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,” Paxton said in a statement.
Under the Texas biometric privacy law, passed in 2009, penalties can reach up to $25,000 per violation. The $1.4 billion settlement will be distributed to the state over five years. Despite the significant financial penalty, Meta expressed a desire to continue its operations and potential future investments in Texas, including the development of data centers. “We are pleased to resolve this matter, and look forward to exploring future opportunities to deepen our business investments in Texas,” said Meta spokesperson Thomas Richards.
This settlement is not the first instance of Meta facing legal consequences over its facial recognition technology. In 2021, the company settled a class action lawsuit in Illinois for $650 million for similar allegations under the state’s biometric privacy law. Meta made the facial recognition feature opt-in in 2019, after facing multiple legal challenges and public scrutiny.
Additionally, Texas has initiated a similar case against Google under the same biometric privacy law, which remains pending. The outcomes of these cases could have significant implications for the regulation of biometric data and the responsibilities of tech companies regarding user privacy.
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