LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)-Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook, has agreed to a $1.4 billion settlement to resolve a Texas lawsuit alleging the unlawful use of facial-recognition technology to collect biometric data from millions of Texans without their consent.
This landmark settlement, as reported by Reuters on Tuesday, is the largest ever with a single state, according to Texas’ legal team, which includes Keller Postman.
The lawsuit, initiated in 2022, was the first significant case under Texas’ 2009 biometric privacy law, according to firms tracking the litigation.
The law includes a provision for damages of up to $25,000 per violation.
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Texas charged Facebook with collecting biometric data “billions of times” from photos and videos uploaded by users through a now-discontinued free feature known as “Tag Suggestions.”
Separately, the social media giant was recently fined $220 million by Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
The Nigerian consumer protection agency, led by acting Executive Chairman Adamu Abdullahi, stated that Meta had deprived Nigerian users of control over their data, shared it without consent, and misused its market dominance.
“Denying Nigerian data subjects the right to self-determine; unauthorised transfer and sharing of Nigerian data subjects personal data, including cross-border storage in violation of then, and now prevailing law; discrimination and disparate treatment; abuse of dominance; and tying and bundling,” FCCPC said.
Meta disagrees with the decision and the fine, asserting that in 2021, they clarified to users worldwide how interactions with businesses would function.
Although there was some initial confusion, the feature has since become quite popular.