Google will pay Texas $1.4B to settle claims over user data collection
Google will pay $1.4 billion to Texas to settle claims the company collected users’ data without permission, the state’s attorney general announced Friday.
Attorney General Ken Paxton described the settlement as sending a message to tech companies that he will not allow them to make money off of “selling away our rights and freedoms.”
“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.”
The agreement settles several claims Texas made against the search giant in 2022 related to geolocation, incognito searches and biometric data. The state argued Google was “unlawfully tracking and collecting users’ private data.”
Paxton claimed, for example, that Google collected millions of biometric identifiers, including voiceprints and records of face geometry, through such products and services as Google Photos and Google Assistant.
Google spokesperson José Castañeda said the agreement settles an array of “old claims,” some of which relate to product policies the company has already changed.
“We are pleased to put them behind us, and we will continue to build robust privacy controls into our services,” he said in a statement.
The company also clarified that the settlement does not require any new product changes.
Paxton said the $1.4 billion is the largest amount won by any state in a settlement with Google over this type of data-privacy violations.
Texas previously reached two other key settlements with Google within the last two years, including one in December 2023 in which the company agreed to pay $700 million and make several other concessions to settle allegations that it had been stifling competition against its Android app store.
Meta has also agreed to a $1.4 billion settlement with Texas in a privacy lawsuit over allegations that the tech giant used users’ biometric data without their permission.
What’s behind the health care fight that led to the government shutdown
It's Obamacare health insurance prices — and how much help 24 million Americans will get with their premiums — that are in dispute.
Birmingham’s Furnace Fest celebrates big milestone and new beginnings
Twenty-five years ago, Furnace Fest roared from the belly of Birmingham’s historic Sloss Furnaces for the very first time. It's revival returns this weekend.
At least two people have been killed in an attack at a U.K. synagogue
The attack took place outside a synagogue in Manchester. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the attack "appalling" and "all the more horrific" for taking place on Yom Kippur, Judaism's holiest day.
VIDEO: Trump’s tariffs, changing markets and what an uncertain economy means for you
Eight months into Trump's second term, it's unclear what the larger impact of these tariffs will have on the economy. Despite that, the president keeps promising to roll out new ones.
In Trump country, a Democrat critiques Trump — and talks of succeeding him
NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear about his cross-party appeal in a state that has always overwhelmingly voted for Trump.
Research, curriculum and grading: new data sheds light on how professors are using AI
It's not just students, more professors are using AI in the classroom. But they say more guidance is needed on how to use the technology.
