Explained | Why has the State of Texas sued Meta?

Texas has sued Meta for misusing users’ biometric information, even after the company announced that it will delete faceprints of over a billion people

The story so far: The U.S. State of Texas has sued Meta for using biometric data of users for commercial purposes without their informed consent. Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is the parent company of social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

“The scope of Facebook's misconduct is staggering,” the lawsuit said, targeting the social media giant under various Texas laws.

The lawsuit was filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The document alleges that Facebook captured biometric information of the residents of Texas from their photos and videos uploaded on the website for over ten years and disclosed it to third-party applications for commercial benefits. It also adds that Facebook did not destroy this data “within a reasonable time”.

“Facebook’s omnipresent empire was built on deception, lies, and brazen abuses of Texan’s privacy rights – all for Facebook’s own commercial gain. Of relevance here, for over a decade, while holding itself out as a trusted meeting place for Texans to connect and share special moments with family and friends, Facebook was secretly capturing, disclosing, unlawfully retaining – and profiting off of – Texans' most personal and highly sensitive information: records of their facial geometries,” the lawsuit document reads. Facebook was reportedly capturing data of non-users as well, from photos and videos uploaded on the website by their acquaintances.

The lawsuit further alleges that by capturing sensitive biometric information, Facebook improved its facial-recognition technology and created a powerful Artificial Intelligence (AI) framework that has now spread around the globe.

Meta’s alleged actions violate Texas’ Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act (CUBI) and Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA).

CUBI defines retina or iris scan, fingerprint, voiceprint, or record of hand or face geometry as “biometric identifiers”. The law prohibits the use of these identifiers for commercial purposes unless the individual was informed before the information was captured and explicit consent to record the identifier was received. It also calls for biometric identifiers to be destroyed within a reasonable time.