Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced in a settlement in principle with Texas that Google will pay $1.375 billion for data privacy violations
The settlement resolves two lawsuits that alleged the violation of Texas consumer protection laws by three products.
“In Texas, the law does not exempt Big Tech.” Google has been covertly monitoring the movements, private searches, voice prints, and facial geometry of individuals for years through its products and services. Paxton declared in a statement, “I resisted and prevailed.”
The settlement’s specifics were not disclosed.
The money’s intended use was not specified by the Texas attorney general.
Google stated that the accord resolves allegations regarding Incognito, Location History, and biometrics. The organization refrained from acknowledging any misconduct.
As per a statement issued by José Castañeda, a spokesperson for Google,
“This settles a raft of old claims, many of which have already been resolved elsewhere, concerning product policies we have long since changed,” said a statement from José Castañeda, a Google spokesperson. “We are pleased to put them behind us, and we will continue to build robust privacy controls into our services.”
In 2022, Paxton filed two lawsuits against Google, contending that the company had unlawfully obtained voiceprints and face geometry records from Texas residents.
He also claimed that the company tracked users’ locations despite their belief that the feature had been disabled and that it misled users about Incognito mode, which is intended to provide private browsing.
According to a Google spokesperson, the settlement does not necessitate any modifications to the products.
The owner of Facebook and Instagram, Meta Platforms (META.O), reached a settlement with Paxton last year in which it agreed to pay $1.4 billion in response to allegations that it unlawfully collected and used facial recognition data.
