Google has agreed to pay Texas $1.4 billion to settle claims that it collected users’ data without permission, announced Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday.
Paxton stated that the settlement sends a clear message to tech companies that they cannot profit from violating privacy rights. “In Texas, Big Tech is not above the law,” Paxton said. “For years, Google secretly tracked people’s movements, private searches, and even their voiceprints and facial geometry through its products and services. I fought back and won.”
The settlement resolves multiple claims Texas filed against Google in 2022. Including those related to geolocation data, incognito searches, and biometric information. Texas accused Google of unlawfully collecting users’ private data.
Paxton pointed out that Google gathered millions of biometric identifiers. These included voiceprints and facial geometry, collected through products like Google Photos and Google Assistant.
Google spokesperson José Castañeda explained that the agreement resolves several “old claims,” some of which involve policies the company has already updated. “We are pleased to move past these issues, and we will continue to enhance privacy controls in our services,” Castañeda said.
The settlement does not require Google to change its products. Paxton noted that the $1.4 billion is the largest data privacy settlement a state has secured from Google.
Texas has also reached two other major settlements with Google in the last two years, including one in December 2023. Google paid $700 million over allegations of stifling Android app store competition.
Meta has also agreed to a $1.4 billion settlement with Texas over claims of using users’ biometric data without consent.
