Texas, Meta reach $1.4B settlement in Facebook biometric privacy lawsuit

Update:

• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton reached a $1.4 billion settlement with Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc. after accusing the tech giant of violating the state’s privacy laws with its collection and use of Texans’ biometric data.
• Attorneys for the state announced the settlement July 30, saying it was the “largest settlement ever obtained from an action brought by a single state.”
• Paxton alleged Meta violated Texas’ Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act when it failed to obtain consumers’ consent to collect their biometric data with its now-discontinued facial recognition feature and then disclosed the data to third parties and failed to dispose of the data in the legally required time frame.

Meta biometric data Texas lawsuit overview:

• Why: The lawsuit alleges that Meta collected, used and sold Texans’ biometric data for a decade without their consent, thus violating state privacy laws. 
• Who: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed suit against Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc.
• Where: The lawsuit was filed in Texas state court.

(Feb. 16, 2022)

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing Meta Platforms Inc., Facebook’s parent company, for violating the state’s privacy laws with its collection and use of Texans’ biometric data. Paxton seeks billions of dollars in damages. 

Paxton claims Meta violated Texas’ Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act (CUBI) when it failed to obtain consumers’ consent to collect their biometric data, disclosed the data to third parties and failed to dispose of the data in the legally required time frame.

a misled consumers into thinking the company didn’t collect biometric data, thus violating the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA) and putting Texans’ “well-being, safety and security at risk.”

Paxton seeks damages of up to $25,000 for each violation of the CUBI and up to $10,000 for each violation of the DTPA. The complaint claims that up to 20.5 million Texans were affected by Meta’s allegedly unlawful actions. 

The lawsuit also seeks to prevent Meta from further violating Texans’ biometric privacy rights and for the company to remove its facial recognition technology from its other social media platforms, which includes Instagram and WhatsApp.

Facebook violated Texans’ privacy for ‘AI-Powered Empire,’ lawsuit claims

Enacted in 2009, CUBI prevents someone from capturing an individual’s biometric without their informed consent. It also bars people from distributing that data to third parties and for the data to be destroyed within a year of its collection. 

Meta used its facial recognition technology on the Facebook platform from 2010 to 2021. The technology tracked users and nonusers in tagged pictures and videos uploaded to the platform, according to the complaint. However, the company supposedly failed to disclose to users that the tagging feature funneled individuals’ biometric data to Facebook’s artificial intelligence system.

Paxton claims that the tech company purposefully avoided using the term “biometric” in describing its system, believing it would prevent people from tagging photos and videos.

Facebook, now Meta, placed millions of Texans “at risk from hackers and bad actors, all to build an AI-powered virtual-reality empire,” according to the lawsuit. 

Meta denies Paxton’s allegations, Law360 reports. 

If you’re a Texan who used Facebook between 2010 and 2021, you’ll want to keep an eye on this lawsuit!

The plaintiff is represented by the Office of the Texas Attorney General, McKool Smith PC and Keller Lenkner LLC.

The Meta biometric data Texas ;awsuit is The State of Texas v. Meta Platforms Inc., Case No. 22-0121, in the 71st District Court in Harrison County Texas. 

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• Hyundai class action alleges company sells driver data to broker
• OnlyFans class action claims site allows pro ‘chatters’ to impersonate content creators
• Amazon Prime subscribers fight class action dismissal bid
• Temu, AT&T, others hit with class actions over unsolicited text messages