Texas Court Allows Google to Depose State Officials in Biometric Privacy Lawsuit

The Texas Court of Appeals has granted Google permission to question Texas state officials in an ongoing privacy lawsuit, marking a significant development in the legal proceedings between the technology company and the state. This ruling overturns a previous decision that had blocked Google’s attempts to depose state officials.

The case originated in 2022 when Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Google, alleging violations of state privacy laws through the collection of biometric data from Texas residents without proper consent. The lawsuit cited violations of the Texas Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act (CUBI), which regulates the collection of biometric identifiers including faces, fingerprints, and eye scans. This legal action followed Texas’s broader pattern of privacy enforcement, including a successful $1.4 billion settlement with Meta over similar biometric privacy violations.

On January 18, 2025, the 15th Court of Appeals in Austin overturned a lower court’s ruling that had previously prevented Google from deposing state officials regarding internal communications and key terms related to the privacy law. The appeals court interpreted a Texas court rule as “unambiguously broad,” determining it encompasses the right to depose any party involved in a lawsuit.

Texas officials had opposed Google’s deposition request, arguing that the company had already received substantial discovery and that additional depositions would be “improper and unduly burdensome.” The state characterized Google’s efforts as attempting to “investigate the investigator.”

The ruling represents the first time a Texas appellate court has addressed whether the state can be deposed by a party it has sued. The decision may expand the scope of discovery in cases involving the state and could influence the dynamics between technology companies and state governments in legal proceedings.

Google maintains that Texas’s claims mischaracterize its products and practices, stating that features such as Google Photos’ face grouping capability are user-controlled and not used for advertising purposes. The company has previously addressed similar privacy concerns in other jurisdictions, including a $100 million settlement in Illinois related to its face grouping feature.

This case exists within a broader context of legal actions against technology companies over privacy concerns. The Texas Attorney General’s office has recently expanded its investigations into several technology platforms’ data collection practices, particularly focusing on the protection of minors’ privacy rights.

Sources: Bloomberg Law, Reuters

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January 20, 2025 – by Ji-seo Kim