Privacy & Information Security Law Blog

On October 20, 2022, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton brought suit against Google alleging various violations of Texas’s biometric privacy law, including that the company unlawfully collected and used the biometric data of millions of Texans without obtaining proper consent. The lawsuit alleges that, since 2015, Google has collected millions of biometric identifiers of Texas consumers, such as voiceprints and records of face geometry, through Google’s various products, including Google Photos, Google Assistant and Nest Hub Max, in violation of Texas’s biometric privacy law. Texas’s biometric privacy law prohibits the collection of biometric identifiers for a commercial purpose unless the individual whose biometric identifiers are collected is informed of the collection and provides consent. The law also requires companies to destroy biometric identifiers within a reasonable time, but not later than the first anniversary of the date the purpose for collecting the biometric identifier expires (except in limited circumstances).

The Texas AG seeks penalties of $25,000 per violation of Texas’s biometric privacy law, along with other fees and penalties. The lawsuit also seeks to (1) enjoin Google from collecting biometric identifiers without Texas consumers’ consent, and from misrepresenting that Google does not collect biometric identifiers, and (2) require Google to timely destroy the biometric  identifiers it collects.