Google will pay 1.375 billion as part of a settlement with the state of Texas for violating the privacy of users

The agreement ends two lawsuits regarding three products that allegedly violated Texan provisions on consumer protection.

“In Texas Big Tech does not stand above the law. For years Google secretly followed the movements of people, private search, and even their voice and facial geometry through their products and services. I put resistance and won” – said Paxton in a statement.

Details of the settlement have not been disclosed. The Prosecutor General of Texas also did not say how the money will be used.

Google stated that the contract is resolving claims covering Incognito mode, location history and allegations related to biometricsand. The company did not admit any offense.

“This resolves a number of old claims, many of which have already been dissolved elsewhere, regarding product policy, which we changed a long time ago,” said José Castañeda, Google spokesman. “We are happy to leave them behind and we will continue to build solid privacy checks in our services,” he added.

Paxton sued Google twice in 2022, claiming that the company collected data from the inhabitants of Texas on the geometry of their face and voice without obtaining adequate consent. He also accused the company to track user locations, even when they thought they turned off this function, and misleading users as to incognito mode, which is to ensure private browsing. According to Google spokes, the settlement does not require changes in products.

As Reuters notes, not only Google was in Texan's crosshair. META, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, agreed to pay $ 1.4 billion last year as part of the Paxton settlement Due to the allegations of unlawful collection and use of facial recognition data.