A sign is seen on one of Google’s buildings at its campus in Mountain View, California, on September 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
In a landmark legal victory, Texas has reached a $1.4 billion settlement with Google over claims the tech company secretly gathered users’ personal data without their knowledge or consent. The announcement came Friday from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who called it a strong warning to tech giants that personal privacy cannot be ignored or traded for profit.
“For years, Google tracked Texans without telling them. They monitored where people went, what they searched for, and even scanned their faces and voices through tools like Google Photos and Google Assistant,” said Paxton. “But in Texas, we defend our rights—and today, we’ve won.”
The lawsuit, initially filed in 2022, accused Google of unlawfully collecting sensitive information like users’ locations, private browsing activity—even in ‘incognito’ mode—and unique biometric details such as voice patterns and facial structure. These claims focused on products that millions of users interact with daily, raising serious concerns about how data was being harvested and used.
Google responded by saying the case was based on outdated policies and that many of the issues raised had already been addressed. Spokesperson José Castañeda stated the company is happy to resolve the matter and move forward. “We’ve made changes over time to strengthen privacy controls, and this agreement does not require us to change our current products.”
The $1.4 billion payout is the largest of its kind secured by any state against Google for privacy violations. It marks the third major settlement Texas has reached with the tech giant. Just last December, the state negotiated a $700 million deal over complaints that Google had blocked fair competition in its Android app marketplace.
This new agreement highlights growing concerns over how big tech firms handle user information. It also sets a legal precedent that could influence other states to take action. Paxton emphasized that no company should be allowed to collect deeply personal information in secret, especially details that could be used to identify someone’s face or voice.
This case also mirrors a similar lawsuit against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. Like Google, Meta agreed to a $1.4 billion settlement in a Texas-led case over claims that it too used users’ biometric data without consent.
The Texas-Google settlement could encourage broader scrutiny of tech firms, particularly regarding tools that rely heavily on artificial intelligence and personal data. While Google has not admitted wrongdoing, this massive payout underscores the price companies may pay when user privacy is not handled transparently.
Though the settlement brings the legal battle to a close, it also sends a powerful message across the tech industry: respecting user privacy is no longer optional, especially in a state like Texas, where lawmakers are now keeping a close watch.
