Image source: The Texan

Texas General Ken Paxton sued Google on Thursday, claiming the tech company violated the state’s biometric privacy law.

According to Paxton’s lawsuit, Google collected users’ voiceprints and facial recognition data.

The acts were done with their knowledge or consent.

The lawsuit

Paxton filed the lawsuit in the Midland County District Court in Texas this week.

He says the company’s face and voice recognition in Google Photos and smart speakers violates state law on obtaining or using biometric identifiers.

Complaints

Using Google Photos, the tech giant scans uploaded images and identifies and ranks subjects, particularly people.

However, people don’t know that their face is being scanned or saved.

The company also allegedly listened in on Texans without considering the speaker’s consent to Google’s indiscriminate voice printing.

The complaint also claimed that Google’s Nest Hub Max, the smart home display with an integrated camera, was a “modern eye of Sauron.”

Nest Hub Max watches people, waiting for a face to recognize.

“All across the state, everyday Texans have become unwitting cash cows being milked by Google for profits,” said the complaint.

Texas and biometric data

The Red State is one of the few states to have a biometrics law.

Ken Paxton’s lawsuit is the second time Texas has invoked the 2009 law to prosecute a major company.

In February, Texas claimed that a now-defunct Facebook photo tagging tool violated Texas biometrics law.

The Facebook tool was also the subject of a $650 million biometric privacy agreement in Illinois last year.

The state has other lawsuits against Google.

The other lawsuits include two consumer protection lawsuits and an antitrust lawsuit against the company’s digital ads.

Reference:

Texas sues Google over alleged ‘indiscriminate’ biometric data collection