Texas, Google reach $1.375 billion settlement over data privacy

The state of Texas and tech giant Google have agreed in principle to a $1.375 billion settlement to end a lawsuit rooted in data privacy and security rights, the Texas Attorney General’s Office announced late Friday.

The attorney general’s office brought the lawsuit against Google in 2022 alleging that it had unlawfully tracked and collected private data regarding geolocation, incognito searches and biometric data, according a news release from the state agency.

“After years of aggressive litigation, Attorney General (Ken) Paxton agreed to settle Texas’s data-privacy claims against Google for an amount that far surpasses any other state’s claims for similar violations,” the release said. “To date, no state has attained a settlement against Google for similar data-privacy violations greater than $93 million.”

The private law firm of Norton Rose Fulbright was hired by the attorney general’s office to assist with the litigation.

More: Google supports Austin area nonprofits’ AI adoption efforts through $1 million grant

The attorney general’s office in recent years has secured several settlements against big tech companies. In July, Paxton’s office and Meta — formerly Facebook — reached a $1.4 billion settlement over the collection of facial recognition data. Earlier, Texas and Google agreed to one $700 million settlement and a separate $8 million settlement over allegations of anticompetitive and deceptive trade practices.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas, Google reach $1.375 billion settlement over data privacy