Texas reached a $1.4 billion settlement with Meta, the largest by a single state, over a lawsuit regarding the unauthorized use of biometric data. The company, formerly Facebook, faced similar claims in Illinois with a $650 million settlement in 2021.
The Texas lawsuit accused Meta of violating state laws by capturing or selling residents' biometric information without consent. Meta announced shutting down its face-recognition system and deleting faceprints of over 1 billion people amidst growing concerns about the technology.
Facebook started facial recognition more than a decade ago but later allowed users to opt-out due to increasing pressure from courts and regulators. By 2019, the platform began asking users for permission before using facial recognition, discontinuing automatic recognition and tagging suggestions.
Meta expressed satisfaction with resolving the matter and aims to expand business investments in Texas, potentially including data center development.
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