Google agrees to pay $1.4 billion data privacy settlement to Texas

Google agrees to pay .4 billion data privacy settlement to Texas


A Google corporate logo hangs above the entrance to the company’s office at St. John’s Terminal in New York City on March 11, 2025.

Gary Hershorn | Corbis News | Getty Images

Google agreed to pay nearly $1.4 billion to the state of Texas to settle allegations of violating data privacy rights of the state’s residents, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Friday.

Paxton sued Google in 2022 for allegedly unlawfully tracking and collecting the private data of users. The attorney general said the settlement dwarfed all past settlements by other states with Google for similar data privacy violations.

“In Texas, Big Tech is not above the law,” Paxton said in a statement.

“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,” said Paxton. “This $1.375 billion settlement is a major win for Texans’ privacy and tells companies that they will pay for abusing our trust.”

A spokesperson for Google said, “This settles a raft of old claims, many of which have already been resolved elsewhere, concerning product policies we have long since changed.”

“We are pleased to put them behind us, and we will continue to build robust privacy controls into our services,” the spokesperson said.

This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.



Source

Meta puts the brakes on its massive AI talent spending spree
Technology

Meta puts the brakes on its massive AI talent spending spree

The logo of Meta is seen at the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France, June 11, 2025. Gonzalo Fuentes | Reuters Meta Platforms has paused hiring for its new artificial intelligence division, ending a spending spree that saw it acquire a wave of expensive […]

Read More
Microsoft’s gutting of discounts for some clients likely baked into guidance, analyst says
Technology

Microsoft’s gutting of discounts for some clients likely baked into guidance, analyst says

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks at Axel Springer Neubau in Berlin on Oct. 17, 2023 Ben Kriemann | Getty Images Microsoft said last week that it plans to stop providing discounts on enterprise purchases of its Microsoft 365 productivity software subscriptions and other cloud applications. Since the announcement, analysts have published estimates on how much […]

Read More
Alibaba says smart car spinoff Banma plans to list shares in Hong Kong
Technology

Alibaba says smart car spinoff Banma plans to list shares in Hong Kong

Alibaba’s global headquarters in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, on May 9, 2024. Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images Alibaba-backed Banma, a provider of technology for smart cars, is planning to list shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, according to a filing. In a filing dated Aug. 21, Alibaba said it currently owns about 45% […]

Read More