Texas Secures Massive $1.4B Settlement Over Meta’s Secret Use Of Facial Recognition On Facebook Photos

Texas reached a $1.4 billion settlement with Meta on Tuesday over its use of facial recognition scans, according to a press release.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Meta in February 2022 for allegedly storing facial recognition data obtained by scanning pictures across Facebook, violating the Texas Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act (CUBI) and the Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA), according to court documents. The settlement is the largest ever obtained by a single state and by an attorney general in history, according to the press release.

“After vigorously pursuing justice for our citizens whose privacy rights were violated by Meta’s use of facial recognition software, I’m proud to announce that we have reached the largest settlement ever obtained from an action brought by a single State,” Paxton said in the press release. “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.”

Meta admitted no wrongdoing, according to the final settlement documents. Facebook discontinued the use of its facial recognition software in 2021, according