File photo of visitors taking pictures of a sign with a new logo and the name ‘Meta’ in front of Facebook’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California (USA). EFE/EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO
San Antonio (USA), Jul 30 (EFE).- Tech giant Meta has agreed to pay $1.4 billion to the state of Texas to settle a lawsuit filed by state prosecutors over unauthorized use of Facebook users’ biometric data.
Attorney General Ken Paxton called the settlement “historic” and a reflection of his “commitment to stand up to the world’s largest technology companies and hold them accountable for violating the law and the privacy rights” of Texans, according to a statement Monday.
The settlement, which Texas describes as the “largest settlement” ever obtained by a US state from a technology company, will be spread over a five-year period, the attorney general’s office said.
In a lawsuit filed in 2022, Texas accused Meta, Facebook’s parent company, of collecting and storing the biometric data of millions of people without their consent, “in violation” of state law.
According to the Texas authorities, the company collected information and used it to advance its commercial interests through the “tag suggestions” function on photos posted by users on Facebook.
A data protection law passed by the state legislature in 2009 requires companies to inform and obtain consent from individuals before collecting biometric information.
California-based Meta, which also owns the social media site Instagram and messaging platform WhatsApp, has come under fire in recent years for its privacy practices and lack of transparency about the algorithms it uses.
In November last year, a group of more than 30 US states filed a lawsuit accusing the company of knowingly designing its social media sites to be addictive to minors.
