Texas AG Sues Google For Allegedly Capturing Face And Voice Data Without Consent

Topline

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Google on Thursday, alleging the tech giant violated a state consumer protection law by capturing millions of users’ facial and voice data without their consent, as facial recognition technology comes under increased scrutiny—though Google argued Paxton’s suit misrepresented its features.

Key Facts

The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Midland, Texas, claims the company’s Google Photos and Google Assistant apps, as well its Nest security camera—which records people who approach a front door—unlawfully took in biometric data from millions of Texans who use Google products.

By doing so, Google has “blatantly” violated a state law called the Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act since at least 2015, according to the suit.

The lawsuit alleges features such as “face grouping,” which creates albums of certain people based on facial recognition records in the Google Photos app, are both “invasive” and “dangerous” because voice and facial data, once “stolen,” cannot be erased or replaced.

Paxton is seeking civil penalties up to $25,000 for each violation.

Google’s biometric data serves its own “commercial ends,” Paxton claims, arguing it allows the company to enhance its face scanning abilities, driving its technological growth.

Chief Critic

A Google spokesperson argued Paxton has mischaracterized Google’s features, calling it “another breathless lawsuit.” In a statement to Forbes, the spokesperson said users can disable face-specific organization tools on Google Photos, as well as voice match and face match features on Nest, and that the company does not use the data for advertising purposes.

Tangent

Paxton filed another lawsuit against Google in January, claiming false, scripted testimonials on iHeartRadio promoting its Pixel 4 smartphone violated the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act by misleading consumers. He sued the company again over allegations it “systematically” tracked users’ location without consent, even when users thought they had disabled the tracking feature on their phones.

Key Background

Facial recognition tools have drawn legal controversy in the past. Google agreed to pay $100 million to a group of Illinois residents in June to settle a class-action lawsuit over Google Photos’ face grouping feature, which plaintiffs had argued violated the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act by collecting and storing the data without users’ consent. It came one year after a judge ordered Facebook to pay $650 million in another lawsuit in Illinois over the social media company’s use of biometric tools.

Contra

More than 400 police forces across the country, including 57 in Texas, had partnered with Amazon’s doorbell surveillance company Ring—a competitor to Google’s Nest cameras—in 2019, giving them access to homeowners’ front-door video footage, the Washington Post reported. Under that partnership, police departments are required to request footage from homeowners. But that practice came under scrutiny in June, when Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey (D), sent a letter to Amazon questioning policy violations from 11 instances in which he said footage was taken without homeowners’ consent. An Amazon official claimed those instances involved “imminent danger of death or serious physical injury” in a written response to Markey’s letter.

Further Reading

Texas sues Google for allegedly capturing biometric data of millions without consent (Reuters)

Texas Sues Google for Collecting Biometric Data Without Consent (New York Times)