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Texas AG Announces $1.375 Billion Deal with Google in Data Privacy Dispute

By  |  May 12, 2025

Google has agreed to pay $1.375 billion to the state of Texas in a major legal settlement concerning alleged violations of consumer data privacy laws, according to Reuters. The agreement, announced by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday, resolves two lawsuits that centered on three of the tech giant’s key features: Incognito mode, Location History, and biometric data collection.

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    Per Reuters, the lawsuits accused Google of unlawfully gathering sensitive user information, including facial recognition data and voiceprints, without adequate consent from consumers. The settlement marks one of the largest state-level resolutions involving data privacy, though Paxton did not disclose how the state intends to allocate the settlement funds.

    “In Texas, Big Tech is not above the law. For years, Google secretly tracked people’s movements, private searches and even their voiceprints and facial geometry through their products and services. I fought back and won,” Paxton said in a statement.

    The legal actions, both filed in 2022, alleged that Google continued to collect location data even when users had disabled tracking features and that it misled consumers about the privacy offered by Incognito mode. The lawsuits were brought under Texas consumer protection statutes.

    Related: Google Faces €2.97 Billion Lawsuit in Italy Over Alleged Market Abuse

    Google, for its part, has denied any wrongdoing. In a statement issued by spokesperson José Castañeda, the company said the agreement addresses “a raft of old claims, many of which have already been resolved elsewhere,” and emphasized that the policies in question have since been updated. “We are pleased to put them behind us, and we will continue to build robust privacy controls into our services,” the statement read.

    While the financial terms of the settlement were made public, specific conditions or requirements Google must follow as part of the deal were not detailed. According to Reuters, the company emphasized that the settlement allows it to close a chapter on outdated practices while continuing to focus on user privacy enhancements.

    Source: Reuters