Google has been sued in the United States for illegally collecting and using biometric data of millions of people. The charge comes from the Texas Attorney General. It states that Google has obtained millions of biometric identifiers, including voice and facial information, through products and services such as Google Photos, Google Assistant and Nest Hub Max, without informed consent.
The tech company then used this personal information for its own commercial gain, thereby violating Texas biometric privacy laws, the indictment said. "Google's arbitrary collection of personal information from Texans, including highly sensitive information such as biometric identifiers, will not be tolerated," Attorney General Ken Paxton said. "I will continue to fight big tech to ensure the privacy and security of all Texans."
Earlier this year, Google was sued in Texas for misleading user tracking. According to this indictment, Google continues to track users even if they have disabled "Location History" on their devices. Google then uses the "deceptively obtained" data to serve targeted ads, which would earn the company huge amounts of money.