Meta Settles Lawsuit With Texas Over Capturing Users Images and Fingerprints Without Consent
Meta has settled with Texas for $1.4 billion in a privacy lawsuit involving allegations that Meta accessed users’ biometric data without permission. The settlement is the largest ever reached by a single state.
Previous Settlements Involving Meta
This is not the first time Meta has been implicated in similar acts. In 2021, Facebook reached a settlement with Illinois for $650 million over claims that the company had used users’ biometric data without their permission.
Statement from Texas Attorney General
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said, “The historic settlement demonstrates our commitment to challenging the world’s biggest technology companies and holding them accountable for breaking the law and violating Texans’ privacy rights.”
Meta’s Response to the Settlement
Although the agreement will cost them over a billion dollars, Meta released a statement about the settlement: “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.”
Background of the Lawsuit
In 2022, Paxton filed a lawsuit claiming that Meta was illegally capturing and selling users’ biometric data, including their images and fingerprints, without consent. Each state has its own laws and regulations on privacy and technology matters.
Financial Impact on Meta
As a result of several lawsuits on the topic, Meta has paid more than $2 million in settlements related to violations of privacy laws.
Industry Implications
Class action attorney Jay Edelson, who filed the claim against Facebook on behalf of Illinois users, said, “That is a huge signal to other companies that they should be extremely careful if they want to trade in individuals’ biometric information.”
Historic Privacy Settlements
The only government privacy settlement in history that cost more than the Texas settlement is the $5 billion settlement between the Federal Trade Commission and Facebook/Meta in 2019.
Meta’s Policy Changes
Amidst growing consumer awareness of privacy concerns and social media, Meta announced in 2021 that it would no longer use a face-recognition system and delete more than one billion faceprints.
User Consent and Recognition Technology
When that announcement was made in 2021, over one-third of Facebook users had granted permission for the company to recognize their faces.
History of Facebook Recognition Applications
Meta had used Facebook recognition applications for a decade before privacy advocacy took hold.
Increased Scrutiny and User Options
As courts, regulators, and users began to be more aware and apply more scrutiny to the technology, Meta responded by making it easier for users to opt out of the technology feature.
Changes in Facebook’s Tagging Feature
Before 2019, Facebook automatically identified individuals in photos and asked users if they wanted to “Tag” individuals.
Adjustments Due to Privacy Concerns
Due to increased scrutiny and privacy concerns, Facebook retooled its operations to default to asking users first if they wanted to apply facial recognition technologies to identify individuals in photos.
Pending Lawsuit Against Google
A similar lawsuit is pending between Texas and Google. The lawsuit, initiated in 2022, alleges that Google unlawfully collected millions of biometric identifiers for users, including face and voice markers, using Google Photos, Google Assistant, and Nest Hub Max.
Juliet Potrykus
Juliet Potrykus is a distinguished writer with expertise in political news, public policy, and legislation, boasting a decade of Capitol Hill experience in Washington, D.C. She holds a Master's Degree in International Relations and American Politics from George Washington University. Now based in Washington state with her family, Juliet continues her advocacy on critical issues like immigration, education, and constitutional matters.