Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has described his recent legal victory against Google. The tech conglomerate will now pay $1.4 billion to settle multiple 2022 class-action privacy suits. The settlement underscores Paxton’s ongoing campaign against Big Tech, emphasizing that these companies are not above the law in Texas.
Paxton sued Google. In particular, he takes issue with the company’s covert collection of Americans’ location data, search history, voiceprint and facial recognition data – via the company’s myriad platforms and services. This lawsuit is the latest move in a ongoing effort by Paxton to impose liability on technology firms for their content moderation practices.
Beyond the Google lawsuit, Paxton was active in suing the tech industry, most notably filing suit against Meta. This complaint is primarily concerned with the company’s new, controversial Facebook facial recognition program. Meta also reached a separate $1.4 billion settlement to resolve that lawsuit.
“In Texas, Big Tech is not above the law,” said Paxton. He went on to explain just how dire added context. He continued, “For years, Google secretly tracked people’s movements, private searches, and even their voiceprints and facial geometry—without consent—through their myriad products and services.” I fought back and won.
When suit was first filed, Google fought back against Paxton’s accusations, asserting that he had mischaracterized their products. The tech company noted that its Google Photos service sorts users’ faces to organize similar photos. They painted a clear picture that it isn’t using facial recognition for advertising intentions.
A spokesperson for Google, José Castañeda, addressed the settlement by saying, “This settles a raft of old claims, many of which have already been resolved elsewhere, concerning product policies we have long since changed.”
The settlement comes on the heels of a burgeoning trend towards increased regulatory scrutiny over big techs’ practices regarding user data. Paxton’s actions do not reflect his purported commitment to privacy rights. His commitment to protect consumers is critical, as fears about data abuse continue to rise in our increasingly technological world.
In recent political developments, Ken Paxton announced his intention to challenge U.S. Senator John Cornyn in the upcoming mid-term elections, indicating a potential shift in his focus toward broader political ambitions while continuing to advocate for consumer rights.
