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.
$7.5M
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a $7.5 million settlement with Tris Pharmaceuticals over alleged misrepresentations about the efficacy of Dyanavel XR, an ADHD drug marketed for children. The release says the company overstated the drug’s efficacy and directed sales representatives to make misleading claims to doctors, including Medicaid providers.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced an agreement with Plum Organics requiring stronger testing and limits for heavy metals in covered baby food products, along with publicly accessible testing results. The release does not state a monetary penalty; the agreement follows an ongoing investigation into baby food manufacturers.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton opened an investigation into Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, its parent Health Care Service Corporation, and related entities over alleged denials or delays of urgent and medically necessary care and potentially burdensome prior authorization requirements. The investigation is ongoing; the Attorney General issued a Civil Investigative Demand to obtain information and assess potential violations of Texas law.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a consumer alert warning Texas businesses and nonprofits about a surge of demand letters alleging California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) violations based on common website technologies such as cookies, pixels, and analytics tools. The AG cautions that some letters may exaggerate or misrepresent violations and may be fraudulent, noting serial CIPA plaintiff Vivek Shah has been declared a vexatious litigant. Recipients are advised not to pay or respond directly, to consult privacy counsel, and to report suspected fraud to the Consumer Protection Division.
A Texas state district court (Judge Cory Liu) has found TikTok liable for lying to parents about the safety of its platform and for exposing children to inappropriate and explicit content, making Texas the first state in the nation to hold TikTok liable on these claims. The court found that although TikTok claimed it would remove graphic videos depicting drugs, nudity, alcohol, injuries, and profanity, such videos remained accessible to minors, even under 'Restricted Mode.' No penalty has been imposed yet; Attorney General Paxton will proceed to trial, expected next month, where relief and penalties will be determined.