Penalty Amount
$1,400,000,000
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton secured a $1.4 billion settlement with Meta over the company’s decade-long unauthorized capture of Texans’ facial geometry via its Tag Suggestions feature, which used facial recognition software without providing notice or obtaining informed consent. The practices violated Texas’s Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act (CUBI) and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, as Meta automatically enabled the feature for all Texans without explaining its functionality or seeking permission. This is the largest privacy settlement ever obtained by a single state attorney general, with Meta required to pay the penalty over five years and cease the unlawful biometric data practices.
Meta must pay $1.4 billion to the State of Texas over a five-year period and permanently stop capturing or using Texans’ biometric identifiers, including facial geometry, without first providing clear notice and obtaining explicit informed consent as required by Texas law. The settlement is formalized via a final court-ordered consent decree that enjoins all unlawful biometric data collection practices.
In-house legal teams should immediately review all vendor agreements involving biometric data collection, facial recognition tools, or automated user data capture to ensure compliance with state biometric privacy laws like Texas CUBI. Contracts must include explicit requirements for vendors to provide clear, upfront notice to users about biometric data collection practices and obtain opt-in informed consent before capturing any biometric identifiers (including facial geometry). Clauses related to automatic feature enablement (e.g., photo tagging) should be updated to prohibit activation without user consent, and audit rights should be added to verify vendor compliance. Teams should also ensure vendors are liable for violations of state deceptive trade practices acts related to undisclosed data collection, as penalties for noncompliance can reach billions of dollars.
Entity
Meta (formerly known as Facebook)
Industry
TechnologyOfficial Press Release
https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-secures-14-billion-settlement-meta-over-its-unauthorized-capture
Final State of Texas v Meta Order 2024
https://texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/images/press/Final%20State%20of%20Texas%20v%20Meta%20Order%202024.pdf
Texas Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/consumer-protection/privacy
"Attorney General Ken Paxton Secures $1.4 Billion Settlement with Meta Over Its Unauthorized Capture of Personal Biometric Data"
"Meta (formerly known as Facebook)"
"$1.4 billion"
"Texas's 'Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier' Act (“CUBI”)"
"the Deceptive Trade Practices Act"
"unlawfully capturing the biometric data of millions of Texans without obtaining their informed consent"
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched an investigation into Meta's Meta AI Glasses over allegations of unlawful facial biometric data collection, deceptive privacy practices, and unauthorized sharing of user data with subcontractors. The investigation follows concerns that the glasses' always-on recording mode lacks proper user notice, planned facial recognition features would collect data without consent, and private user videos are accessed by third-party annotators in Kenya. The AG issued a Civil Investigative Demand to Meta to determine violations of Texas privacy laws.
$3.0M
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a settlement requiring Temu to protect Texans’ sensitive personal data from exposure to the Chinese Communist Party and to strengthen product-safety practices. Temu must pay Texas $3 million, comply with data-security requirements backed by a potential $8 million annual penalty, conduct annual independent product testing, and take specified action on products found to contain harmful substances.
$773.0M
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that a multistate coalition had secured an opioid settlement with Albertsons, which would require the grocery chain to pay more than $773 million nationally once final. Texas and its political subdivisions may receive up to $57.8 million for opioid abatement; the release does not identify privacy violations.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Gerber Products Company and Nestlé USA, Inc., alleging that Gerber made deceptive safety and testing claims while its baby food contained dangerous levels of toxic heavy metals. The lawsuit asserts claims under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act; the release does not report a settlement, monetary penalty, or court order.
$1.5M
The Texas Attorney General obtained a judgment holding Rubinsky Roofing LLC liable for 27 violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, including deceptive practices involving older consumers and payment for unnecessary or unfinished repairs. The judgment requires more than $1.5 million in civil penalties, allocates at least $500,000 to consumer restitution, and permanently bars the company and its owner from the practices at issue.
The Texas Attorney General opened an investigation into UnitedHealth Group over allegations that its insurance-benefit administration and patient-care decisions denied Texans medically necessary healthcare. The AG issued Civil Investigative Demands to collect evidence; the release announces no penalty or remedy.