In Texas Biometrics Lawsuit, Google Wants to ‘Investigate the Investigator’

Texas has requested a judge to block Google from questioning the state and its legal team in a lawsuit accusing the company of unlawfully collecting biometric data of millions of Texans without consent.

In a court filing, Texas attorneys argued that Google’s demand to depose the state on various topics, including key terms in the privacy law, is an impermissible attempt to “investigate the investigator.” Texas claims that allowing such depositions would hinder the state’s ability to address public harms effectively.

Filed in 2022, the lawsuit accuses Google of deceptive trade practices and violating a state law that protects biometric identifiers like faces, fingerprints, and eye scans from unauthorized capture. Texas alleges that Google collected the data through products such as Google Photos, Google Assistant, and Nest Hub Max. The privacy law in question imposes penalties of up to $25,000 per violation.

Google denies any wrongdoing, and argues that the Texas biometric privacy law was unenforced for its first twenty years until cases were filed against Google and Facebook’s parent company Meta in 2022. Meta has denied wrongdoing but plans to settle the state’s lawsuit, though the terms have not been disclosed.

Google seeks to depose Texas on issues related to liability and penalties, accusing the state of seeking exorbitant penalties. The company also wants to question Texas about its business relationships with biometric vendors Clearview AI and Idemia. Google claims Texas is using Clearview AI to access biometric information of Texans rather than investigating its conduct or enforcing the law itself. Google contends that deposing the state is not unprecedented.

The case is being heard in the 385th Judicial District Court, Midland County, Texas.

Source: Reuters

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June 27, 2024 – by Ali Nassar-Smith and Alex Perala