Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has won a $1.4 billion settlement from Facebook-parent Meta over charges that it captured users' facial and biometric data without properly informing them it was doing so.
"Unbeknownst to most Texans, for more than a decade Meta ran facial recognition software on virtually every face contained in the photographs uploaded to Facebook, capturing records of the facial geometry of the people depicted," he said in a statement.
As part of the settlement, Meta did not admit to wrongdoing.
Facebook discontinued how it had previously used face-recognition technology in 2021, in the process deleting the face-scan data of more than one billion users.
The settlement amount, which Paxton said is the largest ever obtained by a single state against a business, will be paid out over five years.
"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.
A Meta spokesperson said the company was "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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