Texas sues Facebook over 'unauthorized use of biometric data'

The Attorney General of Texas filed a lawsuit against Facebook parent company Meta for allegedly violating state laws in how the social media giant collects and handles biometric data.

In a statement posted on Twitter Monday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said that the biometric data of millions of Texans had been captured without "properly obtaining their informed consent to do so, in violation of Texas law."

"Facebook will no longer take advantage of people and their children with the intent to turn a profit at the expense of one's safety and well-being,” Paxton said. "This is yet another example of Big Tech's deceitful business practices and it must stop. I will continue to fight for Texans' privacy and security.”

Biometric data stored 'without consent'

The feature, which automatically tagged people appearing in photos was scrapped at the end of 2021.

However, Paxton said that Facebook has been storing millions of biometric identifiers contained in photos and videos uploaded onto the social media platform.

Paxton alleged Meta and Facebook exploited personal information of both users and non-users in order to "grow its empire and reap historic windfall profits." This, its alleged was done repeatedly and without consent.

A spokesperson for Meta said: "These claims are without merit and we will defend ourselves vigorously."

In 2020 a similar lawsuit saw the state of Illinois settle with Facebook for an amount of $650 million.