Paxton is accusing the tech giant of unlawfully capturing and using the biometric data of people in Texas without their consent.
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing Google for allegedly violating Texan’s privacy.
Paxton is accusing the tech giant of unlawfully capturing and using the biometric data of people in Texas without their consent.
Paxton’s lawsuit against Google claims the company has used products such as Google Photos, Google Assistant and Nest Hub Max to exploit personal information for commercial interest. This is a violation of the state’s Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act.
“Google’s indiscriminate collection of the personal information of Texans, including very sensitive information like biometric identifiers, will not be tolerated,” Paxton said in a press release. “I will continue to fight Big Tech to ensure the privacy and security of all Texans.”
In response, Jose Castaneda, a spokesperson for Google, released the following statement:
“AG Paxton is once again mischaracterizing our products in another breathless lawsuit. For example, Google Photos helps you organize pictures of people, by grouping similar faces, so you can easily find old photos. Of course, this is only visible to you, you can easily turn off this feature if you choose and we do not use photos or videos in Google Photos for advertising purposes. The same is true for Voice Match and Face Match on Nest Hub Max, which are off-by-default features that give users the option to let Google Assistant recognize their voice or face to show their information. We will set the record straight in court.”
This is not the first time Paxton has pursued lawsuits against Google. In January 2022, the attorney general sued Google for violating the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act for reportedly using misleading endorsement and deceptively tracking users’ location without their consent.
To read the most recent lawsuit in full, click here.
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