• Texas settles with Google for $1.38 billion over privacy violations.
• Allegations include location tracking and biometric data collection without consent.
• This marks the largest privacy-related settlement by Google to a single state.
• Google has not admitted wrongdoing and claims policies have changed.
• Settlement funds and terms details are yet to be disclosed by Texas government.

Texas has reached a landmark settlement agreement with Google amounting to approximately $1.375 billion, in response to allegations of violating user privacy rights. Announced by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, this deal resolves lawsuits that accused Google of improper data collection practices, including tracking users' locations even when disabled, misleading information regarding Incognito mode privacy, and collecting biometric data like voiceprints and facial geometry without consent. Paxton emphasized that “Big Tech is not above the law,” marking the settlement as a significant legal victory for privacy advocates, according to AA and Newsweek.

The lawsuits against Google, filed in 2022, claimed serious violations, including “secretly” tracking users' movements, as well as the collection of personal data unauthorized by the users themselves. This settlement is noted to be the largest payout made by Google to any state concerning privacy-related issues, surpassing previous settlements which typically maxed out in the range of millions. As noted in the settlement information, the terms will require no changes to Google's current products, with the company asserting improvements to its privacy controls have already been implemented, as reported by India Times and Newsweek.

This historic settlement is indicative of Texas's growing initiative to hold tech companies accountable for user privacy violations, having previously secured settlements with other tech giants, including $1.4 billion from Meta for similar biometric data practices. The legal landscape surrounding data privacy continues to evolve as states like Texas lead the charge in enforcing stricter regulations against large technology firms, according to AA and India Times.