Google has agreed to pay nearly $1.4 billion to settle allegations that it violated the data privacy rights of Texas residents, as announced by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Paxton originally filed a lawsuit in 2022 accusing Google of unlawfully tracking and collecting private user data. The settlement resolves claims from two separate lawsuits and surpasses previous settlements made by other states for similar violations.
This settlement comes approximately 10 months after Paxton secured a $1.4 billion settlement for Texas from Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, over unauthorized use of biometric data. Paxton emphasized that “Big Tech is not above the law” in Texas and highlighted Google’s alleged secret tracking of individuals’ movements, searches, and biometric data through its products and services.
Google spokesman Jose Castaneda stated that the company did not admit to any wrongdoing or liability in the settlement. The allegations involved the Chrome browser’s incognito mode, location history disclosures on Google Maps, and biometric claims related to Google Photos. Castaneda noted that Google does not need to make any product changes due to the settlement, as all relevant policy adjustments were previously announced or implemented.
— new from CNBC
