Meta agrees to $1.4B settlement with TX over unauthorized scanning of photos on Facebook

Facebook parent company Meta has agreed to pay $1.4 billion to settle a lawsuit by the state of Texas over Facebook’s unauthorized use of biometric data from millions of Texans, the Attorney General’s Office announced Tuesday.

The settlement stems from a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Ken Paxton in February 2022, accusing the tech giant of violating Texas’ Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act and the Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The lawsuit contended that alleged Meta unlawfully captured biometric data from millions of Texans without their informed consent, as required by state law.

Meta introduced a feature called Tag Suggestions in 2011. The company claimed it would make it easier to tag people in photographs, and it was automatically enabled.

For over a decade, Meta’s facial recognition software scanned virtually every face in photos uploaded to Facebook, capturing records of facial geometry without the users’ consent, according to the Attorney General’s Office. This practice directly violated the act, which mandates that companies must inform individuals and obtain their consent before capturing biometric identifiers such as facial geometry.

Meta will pay the state over five years. Paxton’s office said the settlement is the largest ever obtained from an action brought by a single state.