Meta agrees to $1.4 billion settlement in Texas biometric data lawsuit

Meta has agreed to pay $1.4 billion to settle a lawsuit by the state of Texas over the Facebook owner’s use of biometric data by users, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Tuesday.

The suit, filed by Paxton in 2022, accused Meta of capturing and using biometric data of millions of Texas residents — which was contained in uploaded photos and videos on Facebook — without legally required authorization.

The attorney general’s office, which had accused Facebook of storing billions of biometric identifiers without customers’ consent, said Tuesday that the settlement with Meta is the largest legal settlement ever obtained as the result of an action by a single statement.

“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,” Paxton said in a statement.

“Any abuse of Texans’ sensitive data will be met with the full force of the law,” Paxton said.

A spokesperson for Meta told CNBC, “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.”

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