Facebook Facial Recognition Lands Meta in Trouble, Website To Pay $90m As Damages
- Ken Paxton has taken Meta to court over Facebook's facial recognition and alleged tracking of the platform's users
- In a lawsuit from 2012, Facebook allegedly used its facial recognition technology to track users on its platform, even after they had logged off
- Meta, which owns Facebook, has agreed to a $90 million settlement in this case and is waiting for the court to approve the settlement agreement
Austin - Ken Paxton, the Attorney General for the US state of Texas, has taken Meta to court over Facebook's facial recognition and alleged tracking of the platform's users.
Paxton argues that Meta (previously known as Facebook), captured and used millions of Texans' biometric data without their informed consent, which violates state law. He added that this is a prime example of a Big Tech company's deceitful business practices and disrespect for privacy.
"Facebook will no longer take advantage of people and their children with the intent to turn a profit at the expense of one's safety and well-being," Paxton said.
Source: UGC
Facebook's history with facial recognition
A lawsuit from 2012 has come to light again. The ten-year-old lawsuit alleges that Facebook used its facial recognition technology to track users on its platform, even after they had logged off, Business Insider reports.
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Meta, who owns Facebook, has agreed to an R1.3 billion settlement in this case and is waiting for the court to approve the settlement agreement. One of the conditions is that Facebook deletes data improperly collected on users through the use of this practice. Facebook also stands accused of exploiting its users for data and profit, according to IOL.
The 2012 lawsuit alleges that, between April 2010 and September 2011, Facebook violated privacy and wiretapping laws by using plug-ins to store cookies tracking users' visits to third-party websites that contained "like" buttons.
Meta: Mark Zuckerberg finally changes Facebook's long-standing name
Meanwhile, Facebook had announced a change of name to Meta as part of a strategic shift to emphasize the development of its virtual world as crisis rocks its main social network business.
The social media platform's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, made the announcement on Thursday, October 28, at an annual hardware event, Connect.
This rebranding launches the site to a virtual world and hardware known as the “metaverse”,
Source: Legit.ng
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