Meta to Pay Texas $1.4 Billion Over Facial Recognition Lawsuit Settlement

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has agreed to a $1.4 billion settlement with the State of Texas to resolve a lawsuit concerning the use of biometric data. The lawsuit, initiated by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in 2022, accused Meta of using facial recognition software without obtaining consent from Texans.

The lawsuit targeted Facebook’s “tag suggestions” feature, which utilized facial recognition to identify and suggest people to tag in photos uploaded to the platform. Texas argued that this practice violated the state’s Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act and the Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

Meta will pay the $1.4 billion settlement over the next five years as part of the agreement. Attorney General Paxton highlighted the significance of the settlement, stating, “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. Any abuse of Texans’ sensitive data will be met with the full force of the law.”

According to Paxton’s office, this settlement is the largest ever achieved by a single state against a company for such practices.