Texas secures $1.38bn settlement with Google over data privacy

Google has agreed to pay $1.375 billion in a settlement in principle reached with the state of Texas over allegations the company violated users’ data privacy, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said on Friday.

The agreement settles two lawsuits that covered three products for allegedly violating Texas consumer protection laws.

“In Texas, Big Tech is not above the law. For years, Google secretly tracked people’s movements, private searches and even their voiceprints and facial geometry through their products and services. I fought back and won,” said Paxton in a statement.

Details of the settlement were not disclosed.

The Texas attorney general did not say how the money would be used.

Google said the agreement settles claims encompassing Incognito, Location History and biometrics-related allegations. The company did not admit any wrongdoing.

“This settles a raft of old claims, many of which have already been resolved elsewhere, concerning product policies we have long since changed,” said a statement from Jose Castaneda, a Google spokesperson. “We are pleased to put them behind us, and we will continue to build robust privacy controls into our services.”

Paxton sued Google twice in 2022, alleging that it had collected from Texas residents records of their face geometry and voiceprints without obtaining proper consent. He also alleged the company tracked users’ location even when they thought they had disabled the feature and misled users about Incognito mode, which is meant to provide private browsing.

The settlement does not require product changes, according to a Google spokesperson.

Meta Platforms, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, agreed last year to pay $1.4 billion to settle with Paxton over allegations it unlawfully collected and used facial recognition data.