{"id":2316157,"date":"2024-07-30T16:43:01","date_gmt":"2024-07-30T20:43:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/meta-to-pay-texas-1-4-billion-for-collecting-users-data\/"},"modified":"2024-07-30T16:49:32","modified_gmt":"2024-07-30T20:49:32","slug":"meta-to-pay-texas-1-4-billion-for-collecting-users-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/meta-to-pay-texas-1-4-billion-for-collecting-users-data\/","title":{"rendered":"Meta To Pay Texas $1.4 Billion For Collecting Users&#8217; Data"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmeta-to-pay-texas-1-4-billion-for-collecting-users-data%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2316157&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton\u2064 has secured a\u2062 historic \u2062$1.4 billion settlement from Meta Platforms, the\u200c parent company of Facebook, after the company\u2063 collected biometric data from Texas users \u2063without their authorization. The issue stems from a facial recognition feature that was automatically activated in 2011, which allowed the platform to recognize and tag individuals in photos without \u200binforming users. This\u2064 practice violated Texas state law, which \u2063mandates that companies must inform \u2062users and \u200bobtain consent prior to\u200b capturing\u2062 biometric information. <\/p>\n<p>Meta \u200dended its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-republicans-demand-answers-from-irs-after-destruction-of-30-million-paper-filed-tax-documents\/\" title=\"House Republicans Demand Answers From IRS After Destruction Of 30 Million Paper-Filed Tax Documents\">facial recognition program<\/a> in 2021, claiming to \u200chave deleted vast amounts of biometric \u2064data. Paxton&#8217;s lawsuit, filed in 2022, argued that Meta&#8217;s practices breached both the &#8220;Capture or Use of\u200c Biometric\u200c Identifier&#8221; and the\u2064 Deceptive Trade Practices Act\u2063 of Texas. As part \u2063of the \u2064settlement, Meta must \u200bnotify the Texas attorney general \u2064of any future actions that might contravene state biometric data laws. This settlement marks the largest amount\u200d ever settled in\u200b a single state&#8217;s legal action against a tech company concerning privacy violations.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2024\/07\/localimages\/File-3AFacial_Recognition22.jpg\">  mikemacmarketing\/ Wikimedia Commons <\/a> \/ <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0\/\">CC BY 2.0<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/07\/30\/meta-to-pay-texas-1-4-billion-for-collecting-users-biometric-data-without-authorization\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Meta%20To%20Pay%20Texas%20%241.4%20Billion%20For%20Collecting%20Users%E2%80%99%20Biometric%20Data%20Without%20Authorization&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/07\/30\/meta-to-pay-texas-1-4-billion-for-collecting-users-biometric-data-without-authorization\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Meta%20To%20Pay%20Texas%20%241.4%20Billion%20For%20Collecting%20Users%E2%80%99%20Biometric%20Data%20Without%20Authorization&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/07\/30\/meta-to-pay-texas-1-4-billion-for-collecting-users-biometric-data-without-authorization\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/07\/30\/meta-to-pay-texas-1-4-billion-for-collecting-users-biometric-data-without-authorization\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Meta%20To%20Pay%20Texas%20%241.4%20Billion%20For%20Collecting%20Users%E2%80%99%20Biometric%20Data%20Without%20Authorization&amp;body=Meta%20is%20required%20to%20notify%20the%20attorney%20general's%20office%20of%20any%20future%20activities%20that%20might%20fall%20within%20the%20scope%20of%20the%20state's%20biometric%20data%20laws.%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/07\/30\/meta-to-pay-texas-1-4-billion-for-collecting-users-biometric-data-without-authorization\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has secured a $1.4 billion settlement from Meta, the parent company of Facebook, after it captured Texan users&rsquo; biometric data without authorization.  <\/p>\n<p>Meta, then known just as Facebook, released a feature in 2011 that used software to recognize individuals to assist users in tagging individuals in photos. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-b8ec9ff03dacf8b4a1485ac01fbe6f29 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-b8ec9ff03dacf8b4a1485ac01fbe6f29\"><\/div>\n<p>&ldquo;Meta automatically turned this feature on for all Texans without explaining how the feature worked,&rdquo; a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texasattorneygeneral.gov\/news\/releases\/attorney-general-ken-paxton-secures-14-billion-settlement-meta-over-its-unauthorized-capture\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">press release<\/a> from Paxton&rsquo;s office said. &ldquo;Unbeknownst to most Texans, for more than a decade Meta ran <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rep-taylor-greene-dems-police-reform-bill-attacks-law-enforcement\/\" title=\"Rep. Taylor Greene: Dems\u2019 police reform bill attacks law enforcement\">facial recognition software<\/a> on virtually every face contained in the photographs uploaded to Facebook, capturing records of the facial geometry of the people depicted.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Under a 2009 state law, companies must first inform users and receive consent to capture biometric information. That data must then be destroyed within a year. Facebook scrapped the system in 2021, with Meta <a href=\"https:\/\/about.fb.com\/news\/2021\/11\/update-on-use-of-face-recognition\/#:~:text=People%20who've%20opted%20in,blind%20and%20visually-impaired%20people\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">claiming<\/a> it deleted more than a billion people&rsquo;s biometric data. The site had, two years prior, <a href=\"https:\/\/about.fb.com\/news\/2019\/09\/update-face-recognition\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ended<\/a> their practice of automatically turning the setting on for users.<\/p>\n<p>Paxton sued Meta in 2022 over the capturing of biometric data, alleging the practice violated the state&rsquo;s &ldquo;Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier&rdquo; and Deceptive Trade Practices Act. <\/p>\n<p>Meta <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texasattorneygeneral.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/press\/Final%20State%20of%20Texas%20v%20Meta%20Order%202024.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">will pay<\/a> the massive settlement to the state over five years, according to Paxton&rsquo;s office.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-ec982ec10035c16f1f55748f203d5448 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-ec982ec10035c16f1f55748f203d5448\"><\/div>\n<p>&ldquo;After vigorously pursuing justice for our citizens whose privacy rights were violated by Meta&rsquo;s use of facial recognition software, I&rsquo;m proud to announce that we have reached the largest settlement ever obtained from an action brought by a single State,&rdquo; Paxton said in a statement. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This historic settlement demonstrates our commitment to standing up to the world&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ftc-will-review-microsofts-68-7-billion-activision-blizzard-deal\/\" title=\"FTC Will Review Microsoft\u2019s .7 Billion Activision Blizzard Deal\">biggest technology companies<\/a> and holding them accountable for breaking the law and violating Texans&rsquo; privacy rights. Any abuse of Texans&rsquo; sensitive data will be met with the full force of the law,&rdquo; Paxton&rsquo;s statement continued. <\/p>\n<p>Meta is required to notify the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mi-lawmakers-just-made-it-easier-to-commit-election-fraud\/\" title=\"MI Lawmakers Simplify Process for Election Fraud\">attorney general&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s office of any future activities that might fall within the scope of the state&rsquo;s biometric data laws. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We are pleased to resolve this matter, and look forward to exploring future opportunities to deepen our business investments in Texas, including potentially developing data centers,&rdquo; a Meta spokesperson said Tuesday, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/local\/austin\/2024\/07\/30\/meta-settlement-texas-biometric-data\">Axios<\/a>. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4db1b4955b6902aaa05ceabc49b5faef fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4db1b4955b6902aaa05ceabc49b5faef\"><\/div>\n<p>Facebook previously settled a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eff.org\/document\/patel-v-facebook-9th-cir-2019\">suit<\/a> in 2019 with Illinois users for <a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2021\/03\/01\/facebook-illinois-class-action-bipa\/?guccounter=1\">$650 million<\/a> after an earlier facial recognition program took faceprint without obtaining users&rsquo; consent. The act violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-5c28264c3c6a949e18d70894171e20d8 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-5c28264c3c6a949e18d70894171e20d8\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Brianna Lyman<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/briannalyman2\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\" rel=\"noopener\">@briannalyman2<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/briannalyman\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/biometric-data\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">biometric data<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/biometrics\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">biometrics<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/biotechnology\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">biotechnology<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/facebook\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Facebook<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/illinois\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Illinois<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/ken-paxton\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Ken Paxton<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/meta\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">meta<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/social-media\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">social media<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/texas\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Texas<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has reached a $1.4 billion settlement with Meta, the parent company of Facebook, for unlawfully collecting biometric data from Texas users. In 2011, when it was still known as Facebook, the company introduced a feature that utilized software to recognize individuals for photo tagging purposes. According to a press release from Paxton&#8217;s office, &#8220;Meta automatically activated this feature for all Texans without providing an explanation of how it functioned.&#8221; Most Texans were unaware that for over ten years, Meta operated facial recognition software on nearly every face in photos uploaded to Facebook, recording the facial geometry of those depicted.<\/p>\n<p>A state law enacted in 2009 mandates that companies must inform users and obtain consent before collecting biometric information and requires that such data be destroyed within one year. In 2021, Facebook discontinued this system and claimed to have deleted biometric data belonging to over a billion individuals. Two years prior, they had stopped automatically enabling this setting for users.<\/p>\n<p>Paxton filed a lawsuit against Meta in 2022 regarding the unauthorized collection of biometric data, asserting that it violated Texas&#8217;s &#8220;Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier&#8221; law as well as the Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The settlement will be paid out by Meta over five years.<\/p>\n<p>In his statement announcing the settlement, Paxton expressed pride in achieving what he called &#8220;the largest settlement ever obtained from an action brought by a single State,&#8221; emphasizing their commitment to holding major tech companies accountable for violating privacy rights: \u201cAny abuse of Texans\u2019 sensitive data will be met with the full force of the law.\u201d Additionally, Meta is required to inform Paxton\u2019s office about any future activities related to state biometric laws.<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson for Meta stated their satisfaction with resolving this issue and expressed interest in further business investments in Texas, including potential development of data centers. Previously in 2019, Facebook settled another lawsuit with Illinois users for $650 million after failing to obtain consent before collecting faceprints under Illinois&#8217; Biometric Information Privacy Act.<\/p>\n<p>Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist and holds a degree in International Political Economy from Fordham University. Her work has appeared on various news platforms including Newsmax and Fox News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2316158,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Facial_Recognition22-e1722369830734.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[36691,36692,9276,32364,3694],"class_list":["post-2316157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-data-privacy","tag-lawsuit-settlement","tag-meta","tag-social-media","tag-texas"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Facial_Recognition22-e1722369830734.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2316157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2316157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2316157\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2316158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2316157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2316157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2316157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}