Google will pay Texas $1.4 billion to settle privacy lawsuits

Google has agreed to pay the state of Texas $1.375 billion to settle two lawsuits accusing the company of tracking users’ personal location, incognito searches, and voice and facial data without their permission. The lawsuits were brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in 2022. Facebook’s parent company Meta agreed to pay a similar amount to settle a facial recognition-related lawsuit from Paxton last year. “In Texas, Big Tech is not above the law,” Paxton said in a statement. “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.” Paxton’s office also said this is the “highest recovery nationwide against Google for any attorney general’s enforcement of state privacy laws.” A Google spokesperson said the company is settling the lawsuits without any admission of wrongdoing or liability, and without having to change any of its products. “This settles a ... Read full article.