Meta agrees to $1.4 billion settlement with Texas
The parent company of Facebook and Instagram stands accused of using facial identification software without users' permission
What happened
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and other popular social networks, agreed on Tuesday to pay $1.4 billion to settle a lawsuit from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over the company's since-discontinued use of facial recognition software that collected users' data without permission.
Who said what
The "historic settlement" shows Texas' "commitment to standing up to the world's biggest technology companies and holding them accountable for breaking the law and violating Texans' privacy rights," Paxton said in a statement. Meta is "pleased to resolve this matter" and looks forward to "exploring future opportunities to deepen our business investments in Texas, including potentially developing data centers," said a company spokesperson to Politico.
What next?
Meta is currently facing multiple lawsuits from various states over its products' allegedly harmful effects on children. Paxton's office is moving forward with a similar biometric-based lawsuit against Google's parent company, Alphabet.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Metaverse: Zuckerberg quits his virtual obsessionFeature The tech mogul’s vision for virtual worlds inhabited by millions of users was clearly a flop
-
Frank Gehry: the architect who made buildings flow like waterFeature The revered building master died at the age of 96
-
Is MAGA melting down?Today's Big Question Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson, Laura Loomer and more are feuding
-
Metaverse: Zuckerberg quits his virtual obsession
Feature The tech mogul’s vision for virtual worlds inhabited by millions of users was clearly a flop
-
Facial recognition: a revolution in policingTalking Point All 43 police forces in England and Wales are set to be granted access, with those against calling for increasing safeguards on the technology
-
Has Google burst the Nvidia bubble?Today’s Big Question The world’s most valuable company faces a challenge from Google, as companies eye up ‘more specialised’ and ‘less power-hungry’ alternatives
-
X update unveils foreign MAGA boostersSpeed Read The accounts were located in Russia and Nigeria, among other countries
-
Is Apple’s Tim Cook about to retire?Today's Big Question A departure could come early next year
-
Microsoft pursues digital intelligence ‘aligned to human values’ in shift from OpenAIUNDER THE RADAR The iconic tech giant is jumping into the AI game with a bold new initiative designed to place people first in the search for digital intelligence
-
Sora 2 and the fear of an AI video futureIn the Spotlight Cutting-edge video-creation app shares ‘hyperrealistic’ AI content for free
-
Supersized: The no-limit AI data center build-outFeature Tech firms are investing billions to build massive AI data centers across the U.S.
