McKool Smith Secures Record-Breaking $1.4 Billion Settlement for State of Texas Against Facebook/Meta in Biometric Privacy Dispute
MARSHALL, Texas, July 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- McKool Smith, along with Keller Postman and Attorney General Ken Paxton, secured a massive $1.4 Billion settlement on behalf of the State of Texas against Meta Platforms/Facebook. The record-breaking settlement was announced on July 30, 2024 by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. It is the largest settlement ever obtained from an action brought by a single State.
The case was scheduled to be tried to a jury in June, but the parties agreed to settle the dispute on the eve of trial and asked the court to pause the proceeding to finalize the settlement terms.
The suit alleged that Facebook unlawfully captured the biometric identifiers of Texans for a commercial purpose without their informed consent, disclosed those identifiers to others, and failed to destroy collected identifiers within a reasonable time. Facebook's activities included capturing biometric information billions of times from photos and videos that millions of Facebook users in Texas uploaded to the social media platform. The suit further alleged that Meta misrepresented whether and how it was using biometric identifiers. Along with the Office of the Attorney General for the State of Texas, McKool Smith and Keller Postman claimed that Facebook has, for over a decade, built an Artificial Intelligence empire while capturing the most intimate data of Texans, thereby putting their well-being, safety, and security at risk.
"Companies that operate in Texas must be held accountable for their actions, particularly when it puts the privacy of Texans at risk. We're grateful to have had the opportunity to work with the Office of the Attorney General, and we appreciate how the court handled this lawsuit. Cases this size typically move at a glacial speed, but the Marshall, Texas court was expeditious, fair, and impartial. We also want to thank Attorney General Ken Paxton and First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster for including McKool Smith on the litigation team, leading the enforcement action, and driving us to a historic settlement number at mediation," said lead counsel Sam Baxter and Jennifer Truelove from McKool Smith.
Attorney General Paxton said, "After vigorously pursuing justice for our citizens whose privacy rights were violated by Meta's use of facial recognition software, I'm proud to announce that we have reached the largest settlement ever obtained from an action brought by a single State. This historic settlement demonstrates our commitment to standing up to the world's biggest technology companies and holding them accountable for breaking the law and violating Texans' privacy rights. Any entity abusing Texans' sensitive data will be met with the full force of the law."
Along with Ms. Truelove and Mr. Baxter, the McKool Smith trial team included firm Principals John Briody, Kevin Burgess, Charles Fowler, Rick Halper, Eric Hansen, Lew LeClair, Radu Lelutiu, and Robert Manley; and Associates Asena Baran, Caroline Burks, Michael Catapano, Joseph Micheli, Taylor Perez, Carra Rentie, and Lauren Simenauer.
The case is State of Texas v. Meta Platforms, Inc., f/k/a Facebook, Inc., case no. 22-0121, 71st Judicial District Court for Harrison County, Texas.
With more than 130 trial lawyers across offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Marshall, New York, and Washington, D.C., McKool Smith has established a reputation as one of America's leading trial firms. The firm has secured 16 nine-figure jury verdicts and 16 eight-figure jury verdicts, obtaining more VerdictSearch and The National Law Journal "Top 100 Verdicts" than any other law firm. These courtroom successes have earned McKool Smith critical acclaim and helped the firm become what The Wall Street Journal describes as "one of the biggest law firm success stories of the past decade." McKool Smith represents clients in complex commercial litigation, intellectual property, bankruptcy, insurance recovery, and white collar defense matters.
For more information, please contact Keith Hill at (903) 923.9005 or email [email protected].
SOURCE McKool Smith
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