Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg Summoned To Court In Texas Over Alleged Misuse Of Facial Recognition

Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc. META, must take part in a deposition in a Texas court case regarding the firm’s use of facial recognition technology.

What Happened: On Tuesday, Texas’s Sixth Court of Appeals Judge Jeff Rambin has rejected Meta’s attempt to prevent Zuckerberg from being deposed, reported CNBC. The deposition date, however, remains unspecified.

The lawsuit, initiated by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in February 2022, contends that Meta illegally gathered and used the biometric data of millions of Texans without securing informed consent. 

See Also: Meta Offers $51M To Resolve Ads Lawsuit With Canadian Facebook Users In Four Provinces

The company is also accused of contravening the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act by "failing to disclose information — including the fact that it collects biometric identifiers — with the intent to induce Facebook users in Texas into using Facebook, which such users would not have done had the information been disclosed."

The court’s decision cited Zuckerberg’s “unique personal knowledge of discoverable information” as relevant to the case. 

Meta did not immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comments. 

Why It Matters: This isn’t the first time Meta finds itself embroiled in controversy over biometric data

In 2020, the company faced a lawsuit for supposedly collecting biometric data of over 100 million Instagram users without their consent. The lawsuit claimed that Facebook only started notifying users about such collections at the start of 2020.

In 2021, Meta settled a facial recognition-related class action lawsuit for $650 million, the report noted. 

In 2023, Zuckerberg’s old messages resurfaced, leading to renewed concerns about Facebook's privacy practices. This happened amidst a growing rivalry between Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) and Meta’s newly launched decentralized social media platform, Threads

Photo by Frederic Legrand – COMEO on Shutterstock

Check out more of Benzinga's Consumer Tech coverage by following this link.

Read Next: Mark Zuckerberg Resumes Massive Stock Sell-Off, Offloading Almost $428M In Meta Shares Since November

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
Comments
Loading...
Posted In: NewsTechMediabenzinga neurobiometricConsumer Techfacial recognitionlawsuitMark ZuckerbergprivacySoftware & Apps
Benzinga simplifies the market for smarter investing

Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.

Join Now: Free!