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Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, has agreed to pay $1.4 billion to Texas to settle a lawsuit accusing the tech giant of illegally using facial-recognition technology to collect biometric data from millions of Texans without their consent. The settlement, announced on Tuesday, is the largest ever by a single state, according to Texas' legal team, which included the plaintiffs' firm Keller Postman.
The lawsuit, filed in 2022, was the first major case brought under Texas' 2009 biometric privacy law. This law allows for damages of up to $25,000 per violation. Texas accused Facebook of capturing biometric information "billions of times" from photos and videos uploaded by users through a now-discontinued feature called "Tag Suggestions."
A Meta spokesperson expressed satisfaction with the resolution and highlighted the company's interest in exploring future business opportunities in Texas, including the potential development of data centers. Meta continues to deny any wrongdoing.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton praised the settlement, stating it demonstrates the state's commitment to holding major technology companies accountable for legal violations and protecting Texans' privacy rights. The agreement was reached in May, weeks before a trial was set to begin in state court.
This is not the first significant settlement Meta has faced over biometric privacy issues. In 2020, the company agreed to pay $650 million to settle a similar class-action lawsuit under Illinois' stringent biometric privacy law. Meta also denied wrongdoing in that case.
Meanwhile, Alphabet's Google is also contending with a lawsuit from Texas over alleged violations of the state's biometric privacy law.
