Meta has agreed to pay a record $1.4 billion to settle a lawsuit brought by the state of Texas over the unauthorized use of biometric data from Facebook users, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Tuesday. The lawsuit, filed in February 2022, accused Meta of capturing and using biometric data, including facial recognition from photos and videos uploaded to Facebook, without obtaining the legally required permissions from Texas residents.
The lawsuit centered around Facebook’s “Tag Suggestions” feature, introduced in 2011, which utilized facial recognition software to suggest tags by identifying people in photos. Paxton’s office stated that Meta captured and stored billions of biometric identifiers without users’ consent, violating Texas’ Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act. This act prohibits the collection of biometric data without informing users and obtaining their consent.
In response to growing concerns about facial recognition technology, Meta announced in late 2021 that it would shut down its Face Recognition system on Facebook. The $1.4 billion settlement, filed in Texas state district court in Harrison County, is the largest ever obtained from a single state action. Meta will pay out the settlement over five years.
“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. “Any abuse of Texans’ sensitive data will be met with the full force of the law.”
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 potentially developing data centers.” Although the settlement was announced on Tuesday, the deal was reached nearly two months ago, just before a scheduled trial in June.
Attorney General Paxton’s office is also pursuing a similar lawsuit against Alphabet, accusing the Google owner of illegally collecting biometric data from millions of Texans. This case highlights the ongoing efforts to enforce privacy laws and hold tech giants accountable for the misuse of personal data.