Meta Platforms (META) has agreed to pay $1.4 billion to settle a lawsuit filed by Texas, which accused the company of unlawfully using facial-recognition technology to collect biometric data from millions of Texans without their consent. This settlement, disclosed on Tuesday, is the largest ever by a single state, according to Texas' legal team, which included the plaintiffs' firm Keller Postman.

The lawsuit, initiated in 2022, was the first major case under Texas' 2009 biometric privacy law. The law allows for damages up to $25,000 per violation. Texas alleged that Facebook collected biometric data "billions of times" through photos and videos uploaded by users, related to a now-discontinued feature called "Tag Suggestions."

Meta expressed satisfaction with resolving the matter and indicated interest in further investments in Texas, such as developing data centers, though it continues to deny any wrongdoing. The settlement was reached in May, just before a state court trial was set to begin.

In 2020, Meta also agreed to a $650 million settlement over a similar issue under Illinois' stringent biometric privacy law, although the company denied any wrongdoing in that case as well.

Meanwhile, Alphabet (GOOGL) is facing a separate lawsuit from Texas alleging violations of the state's biometric privacy law.