In a major legal victory for consumer privacy rights, the state of Texas has reached a $1.38 billion settlement with tech giant Google over allegations it unlawfully harvested users’ personal data. The agreement, which was announced on Friday by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, is one of the largest privacy-related settlements ever involving a tech company in the United States.
The settlement resolves two lawsuits filed by Paxton’s office, accusing Google of violating the privacy of millions of Texans through its handling of three key products: Incognito Mode, Location History, and its biometric data collection features. According to Paxton, Google engaged in “secret surveillance” by tracking users’ physical locations, search histories, voiceprints, and even facial geometry—often without their full knowledge or consent.
“In Texas, Big Tech is not above the law,” Paxton stated. “For years, Google secretly tracked people’s movements, private searches, and biometric information. I fought back and won.”
While the attorney general did not disclose how the settlement funds would be allocated, the message was clear: Texas is setting a strong precedent for holding technology companies accountable for their handling of user data.
Google, however, maintained that the claims were outdated. In a statement, Google spokesperson José Castañeda said the company was glad to resolve the matter and highlighted that many of the issues had already been addressed through policy changes. “This settles a raft of old claims, many of which have already been resolved elsewhere, concerning product policies we have long since changed,” he said. “We are pleased to put them behind us, and we will continue to build robust privacy controls into our services.”
The settlement does not require Google to make any changes to its existing products. Nonetheless, the resolution underscores the growing legal and public pressure on tech companies to enhance transparency and user control over data privacy.
The roots of the legal battle date back to 2022, when Paxton sued Google twice, accusing the company of capturing biometric data such as face geometry and voiceprints without users’ informed consent. He also accused Google of continuing to track users’ locations even after they had disabled location services, and misleading them about the privacy protections of Incognito Mode.
Google is not the only tech company under scrutiny in Texas. In a separate case last year, Meta—owner of Facebook and Instagram—agreed to pay $1.4 billion to settle similar allegations of illegally collecting facial recognition data from users.
These high-profile cases signal a new era in digital accountability, where states like Texas are leading the charge to enforce stricter data privacy standards and bring transparency to the practices of Big Tech.
