Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg attends the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on online sexual exploitation of children at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., on January 31, 2024.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
Meta has agreed to pay $1.4 billion to settle a lawsuit brought by the state of Texas over Facebook owner's use of its users' biometric data, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Tuesday.
The lawsuit, filed by Paxton in 2022, accused Meta of collecting and using biometric data of millions of Texas residents – contained in photos and videos uploaded to Facebook – without the authorization required by law.
The attorney general's office, which had accused Facebook of storing billions of biometric identifiers without customers' consent, said on Tuesday that the agreement with Meta was the largest settlement ever reached through a single declaration.
“This historic settlement demonstrates our commitment to stand up to the world's largest technology companies and hold them accountable for breaking the law and violating Texans' right to privacy,” Paxton said in a statement.
“Any misuse of sensitive Texans’ data will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Paxton said.
A Meta spokesperson told CNBC, “We are pleased to resolve this matter and look forward to exploring future opportunities to deepen our business investments in Texas, including potential data center development.”
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