Meta agrees to settlement over lawsuit over biometric data collection

So far, Meta and Texas have not made any further comments on the case.

Previously, the owner of Facebook stated that the “claims are baseless and we will vigorously defend ourselves.”

Jury selection for the trial was scheduled for June 17. According to law firms following the litigation, this is the first major case brought under the 2009 Texas biometric privacy law.

One provision of the law provides for compensation of up to $25,000 per violation. Texas accused Facebook of capturing “billions of times” biometric information from photos and videos that users uploaded to the social media platform as part of a free, discontinued feature called “Tag Suggestions.”

The technology could recognize a Facebook user’s friends in a photo and suggest they “tag” that person. Facebook said in a court filing that it provided a “clear notice” that explained the feature to users and gave them control over its use. At the end of 2021, the company announced that it was ending its facial recognition system.

Meta separately agreed to pay $650 million in 2020 to settle a biometric privacy class-action lawsuit that was filed under an Illinois privacy law considered one of the strictest in the country. The company denied any wrongdoing.

With information from Reuters