The Strategist

Meta to pay $1.4 billion to Texas over illegal biometric data collection



07/31/2024 - 06:57



According to the Financial Times, US company Meta has agreed to pay $1.4 billion to Texas authorities to resolve allegations that it improperly acquired biometric data from millions of individuals.



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Attorney General of Texas Ken Paxton claims that this is the biggest settlement payout for individual state litigation ever made in the history of the United States.

Paxton said in a complaint filed in February 2022 that Facebook, a social media platform owned by Meta, had acquired biometric information from images and videos posted on the site without the users' "informed consent." Now, that system is being phased away.

The settlement agreement was achieved with satisfaction, according to Meta, which now plans to investigate ways to "deepen its business investment in Texas, including potentially building data centers."

source: ft.com