Massive Payout: Meta Coughs Up $1.4 Billion in Facial Recognition Settlement
Meta has agreed to pay the state of Texas $1.4 billion to settle a lawsuit accusing the company of unlawfully using facial recognition technology to collect biometric data from millions of Texans without their consent.
The state alleged that Facebook repeatedly collected biometric information billions of times from photos and videos uploaded by users through the now-discontinued “tag suggestions” feature. This feature uses facial recognition technology to identify users in photographs.
Meta denies any wrongdoing but expressed satisfaction with the settlement and its intention to expand its business in Texas, including the establishment of data centers. The agreement was reached in May, a few weeks before the trial was set to begin.
It is worth noting that Meta suspended the use of generative AI in Brazil after the country’s regulatory authorities imposed a preliminary ban, objecting to the new privacy policy. The company decided to halt the use of these tools to address the authorities’ concerns regarding the deployment of GenAI technology.
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