Meta agrees to $1.4B settlement with Texas over biometric data

Meta agreed to pay $1.4 billion to settle a 2022 lawsuit with the state of Texas for obtaining unauthorized user biometric data, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday.

Why it matters : It's Meta's second-biggest settlement with federal or state lawmakers, following its $5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission for violating children's privacy laws in 2019.

Zoom in : The settlement, Paxton said, "serves as a warning to any companies engaged in practices that violate Texans' privacy rights."

Catch up quick: The lawsuit alleged Meta was guilty of violating Texas' " Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier " Act, which Paxton began enforcing in 2022 and prohibits the capturing of a person's biometric data — eye scans, fingerprints and facial scanning — for commercial use unless they're informed ahead of time.

• In the lawsuit, the attorney general alleged Meta's "tag suggestions" feature that uses facial recognition software was turned on without explaining how the feature worked.
• "Unbeknownst to most Texans, for more than a decade Meta ran facial recognition software on virtually every face contained in the photographs uploaded to Facebook, capturing records of the facial geometry of the people depicted," according to the attorney general's office.

What they're saying: "This historic settlement demonstrates our commitment to standing up to the world's biggest technology companies and holding them accountable for breaking the law and violating Texans' privacy rights," Paxton said in a statement. "Any abuse of Texans' sensitive data will be met with the full force of the law."

The other side: Meta did not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement, and in a statement, a Meta spokesperson said, ""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."

• Meta says it no longer uses the tag suggestions feature.

What's next: Texas also sued Google in 2022 for allegedly collecting biometric identifiers without user consent.

• The case is still pending.

Get more local stories in your inbox with Axios Austin.