Texas Wins $1.4B Settlement in Meta Facial Recognition Lawsuit

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    The Facts

    • Facebook-parent company Meta has agreed to pay a historic $1.4B penalty to the state of Texas to settle a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that accused the tech giant of illegally capturing users' facial and biometric data without their consent.

    • Paxton released a statement Tuesday saying that the settlement is the largest amount ever obtained as the result of an action brought by a single state. Meta will pay the $1.4B to Texas over five years.

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    The Spin

    Narrative A

    Attorney General Ken Paxton and the state of Texas secured a massive victory over big tech, and Meta is once again being held accountable for its violation of users' privacy. For a decade, Facebook scanned users' faces and obtained other biometric data without consent, violating Texas law and many other statutes. By winning the largest settlement of its kind, Texas is sending a message that big tech dystopian practices will not be tolerated.

    SCNR

    Narrative B

    This lawsuit was filed a year after Facebook ended its automatic facial tagging in photos. For five years, Meta has worked to fix any bugs that may violate users' privacy, and the company maintains that it is not responsible for any wrongdoing. Facebook fixed the issues related to facial recognition and biometric data gathering long ago. This settlement officially resolves the matter.

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