Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Facebook’s parent company Meta for collecting biometric data on Texans.
Paxton filed the lawsuit in a state district court on Monday, saying that Meta had been storing millions of biometric identifiers from photos and videos uploaded to its social media apps, especially Facebook and Instagram.
Paxton said that the data, including retina scans, voiceprints, and records of face and hand geometry, is being used for commercial purposes without informed consent.
In a statement, Paxton said that Facebook will no longer be able to take advantage of people and their children with the intent to raise a profit, and sacrificed safety and well-being. He said that it was another example of “Big Tech’s deceitful business practices.”
The lawsuit was filed on the first day of early voting in a primary state election in Texas, in which Paxton is facing off against several other Republican challengers. GOP challengers have sprung onto the scene after Paxton’s top deputies reported him to the FBI for corruption.
In 2020, eight of Paxton’s top deputies accused him of bribery, abuse of office, and additional crimes, allegations that are now being investigated by the FBI. He has also spent most of his time as attorney general under a separate felony indictment. In 2015, he pleaded not guilty to three state securities fraud charges but is still yet to face trial.
Those are not the only legal troubles facing Paxton. About three weeks ago, Paxton rejected a prosecutor’s demand for records of his appearance at a rally for then-president Donald Trump that preceded the violent Capitol insurrection in January 2021.
There had been a four-day deadline for the Texas attorney general to turn over his records involving the Capitol assault, or face a lawsuit that accuses him of violating the state open records law. He denied any violations and rejected the demands.
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