Google agrees to pay Texas $1.4 billion to resolve data privacy allegations
Google will be paying Texas $1.
TroibNews
Google will pay $1.4 billion to the U.S. state of Texas to settle claims regarding unauthorized collection of users' data, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Friday.
Paxton characterized the settlement as a signal to tech firms that he will not tolerate them profiting from "selling away our rights and freedoms."
"In Texas, Big Tech is not above the law," Paxton stated. "For years, Google secretly tracked people's movements, private searches and even their voiceprints and facial geometry through their products and services. I fought back and won."
This agreement addresses various claims made by Texas against Google in 2022, focusing on geolocation tracking, Incognito browsing, and biometric data collection. The state alleged that Google was "unlawfully tracking and collecting users' private data."
Paxton noted that Google collected millions of biometric identifiers, such as voiceprints and facial geometry records, through services like Google Photos and Google Assistant.
In response, Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said the settlement resolves several "old claims," many of which relate to product policies that have already been updated.
"We are pleased to put them behind us, and we will continue to build robust privacy controls into our services," Castaneda remarked.
The company further clarified that the settlement does not necessitate any changes to its existing products or services.
According to Paxton, the $1.4 billion payout marks the largest amount ever received by a U.S. state in a data privacy settlement with Google.
This marks not the first significant agreement between Texas and Google in recent years. In December 2023, Google consented to pay $700 million and implement several concessions to resolve allegations of anti-competitive behavior in its Android app store.
In a related case, Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, agreed last year to pay $1.4 billion to settle a similar lawsuit in Texas over claims of illegally collecting and using users' biometric data without consent.
Details regarding how Texas intends to allocate the settlement funds were not revealed.
Jessica Kline for TROIB News
Paxton characterized the settlement as a signal to tech firms that he will not tolerate them profiting from "selling away our rights and freedoms."
"In Texas, Big Tech is not above the law," Paxton stated. "For years, Google secretly tracked people's movements, private searches and even their voiceprints and facial geometry through their products and services. I fought back and won."
This agreement addresses various claims made by Texas against Google in 2022, focusing on geolocation tracking, Incognito browsing, and biometric data collection. The state alleged that Google was "unlawfully tracking and collecting users' private data."
Paxton noted that Google collected millions of biometric identifiers, such as voiceprints and facial geometry records, through services like Google Photos and Google Assistant.
In response, Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said the settlement resolves several "old claims," many of which relate to product policies that have already been updated.
"We are pleased to put them behind us, and we will continue to build robust privacy controls into our services," Castaneda remarked.
The company further clarified that the settlement does not necessitate any changes to its existing products or services.
According to Paxton, the $1.4 billion payout marks the largest amount ever received by a U.S. state in a data privacy settlement with Google.
This marks not the first significant agreement between Texas and Google in recent years. In December 2023, Google consented to pay $700 million and implement several concessions to resolve allegations of anti-competitive behavior in its Android app store.
In a related case, Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, agreed last year to pay $1.4 billion to settle a similar lawsuit in Texas over claims of illegally collecting and using users' biometric data without consent.
Details regarding how Texas intends to allocate the settlement funds were not revealed.
Jessica Kline for TROIB News
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