Texas Is Suing Meta for Billions of Dollars In the lawsuit, Texas attorney general Ken Paxton wrote Facebook's 'illegal and deceptive conduct did not end with its users.'

By Chloe Arrojado

SOPA Images | Getty Images

On Monday, Texas attorney general Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Meta, formerly Facebook, for capturing and using the biometric data of Texans without properly obtaining their informed consent. Meta's alleged actions are against Texas CUBI restrictions, which require Meta to get informed consent before obtaining data like facial geometry.

"By this illegal activity, Facebook exploited the personal information of users and non-users alike to grow its empire and reap historic windfall profits. The company repeatedly captured biometric identifiers without consent billions of times, in knowing violation of Texas' Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act and the Deceptive Trade Practices Act," Paxton wrote in a press release.

Related: Elon Musk Talks About Missing His Besties After Moving to Texas

The lawsuit alleges that Meta obtained unknowing Texans' biometric identifiers and disclosed Facebook users' personal information to other entities. Paxton also alleges that the social media platform failed to destroy the biometric identifiers it collected in a timely manner.

The Texas attorney general continued, writing that the state is seeking $25,000 from Meta for each violation of CUBI, as well as $10,000 for each violation of Texas's Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Considering that the lawsuit alleges Facebook illegally collected biometric identifiers billions of times, Meta could lose hundreds of billions of dollars.

Meta policy communications manager Dina El-Kassaby Meta wrote in a statement to the Verge that Texas's claims "are without merit" and that the platform "will defend ourselves vigorously."

Texas, Illinois and Washington are the only states that have a biometric privacy law. In 2015, Illinois filed a class-action lawsuit against Facebook for similar behavior, which wound up costing the social media platform $650 million.

The Texas lawsuit notes that Facebook claims to have ceased its unlawful facial-recognition practices by late 2021. But by that point, the lawsuit claims "it had spent more than a decade secretly exploiting Texans and their personal information to perfect its AI apparatus."

Related: 3 Mega-Cap Stocks Wall Street Loves: Nike, Alphabet, and Meta

Wavy Line
Chloe Arrojado

Entrepreneur Staff

Editorial Assistant

Editor's Pick

A Father Decided to Change When He Was in Prison on His Son's Birthday. Now His Nonprofit Helps Formerly Incarcerated Applicants Land 6-Figure Jobs.
Lock
A Teen Turned His Roblox Side Hustle Into a Multimillion-Dollar Company — Now He's Working With Karlie Kloss and Elton John
Lock
3 Mundane Tasks You Should Automate to Save Your Brain for the Big Stuff
Lock
The Next Time Someone Intimidates You, Here's What You Should Do
5 Ways to Manage Your Mental Health and Regulate Your Nervous System for Sustainable Success

Related Topics

Growing a Business

How to Grow Your Business With Social Media

Miriam Fried, owner of MF Strong, shares why a solid online presence, including social media and Yelp, is important for starting a business and achieving continued growth.

Business News

After Being Told They Could Work From Home Forever, Employees Made Major Life Changes. Then, a New CEO Ordered Them Back to the Office.

Farmers Group CEO Raul Vargas is facing backlash for the change, but he says being in the office brings more "collaboration" and "innovation."

Leadership

I Accidentally Became a Successful Entrepreneur. Here Are 5 Mistakes I Learned to Avoid When Starting a Business

PR is, at its core, storytelling. And the story of my now-thriving solo-owned business has been fraught with as many mistakes as successes, as many fall down the ladder as steps up. It's from my missteps, in fact, that I learned even more than from my triumphs, and this article presents 5 of my biggest blunders on the road to a flourishing small business.

Business News

Google Wants Employees Back in the Office, Considering 'Attendance' in Performance Reviews

In an email, a Google executive reportedly told employees that many new features and products unveiled during Google's developer conference last month were "conceived, developed, and built by teams working side by side."

Business News

A $12 Million Ship Collision Was Caused By a Texting Employee

Investigators found that the watch officer made a personal phone call and sent text messages prior to the collision.

Business News

'I've Got the Bug for Business': See All of Mark Wahlberg's Entrepreneurial Endeavors, From Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch to Wahlburgers

Mark Wahlberg owns businesses in several categories, including entertainment production, apparel, fitness, and nutrition.