Attor­ney Gen­er­al Ken Pax­ton Leads Nation in Pro­tect­ing Amer­i­cans’ Data Pri­va­cy and Secu­ri­ty from Big Tech, For­eign Threats, and Bad Actors

Attorney General Ken Paxton has made Texas the national leader in protecting citizens’ data privacy and security after establishing one of the largest and most aggressive privacy and technology-focused enforcement initiatives in the country. 

“Over the past year, I’ve taken strong action against Big Tech, foreign entities, and other bad actors who sought to illegally use Texans’ private and sensitive data. And we have won, achieving historic, record-setting settlements against companies such as Google and Meta, and enforcing state laws against social media companies for failing to protect children online,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Texas is the watchdog for the nation’s privacy rights and freedoms, and I will continue doing all I can to protect Texans from new threats to their personal data and digital security.” 

Over the past year, Attorney General Paxton’s Privacy and Tech Team has conducted investigations into the data practices of more than 200 companies, including data brokers, car manufacturers, social media companies, and Chinese companies. Attorney General Paxton has achieved unprecedented results, including: 

• Being the first in the nation to file suit under a comprehensive state data privacy law;  
• Achieving a record-setting $1.4 billion settlement with Meta for unlawfully capturing and using the biometric data of millions of Texans; 
• Settling multiple lawsuits against Google for $1.375 billion to resolve Google’s unlawful collection of Texans’ sensitive data, including their geolocation and biometric data; 
• Becoming the first state to sue General Motors for allegedly selling driving data to car insurers; 
• Reaching a first-of-its-kind generative AI settlement, resolving allegations that a company misrepresented the efficacy of its healthcare AI product; 
• Filing suit against TikTok for allegedly failing to protect children online;  
• Launching investigations into Character.AI, Reddit, Instagram, Discord, and other companies regarding their data privacy and safety practices for children;  
• Protecting Texans from a Chinese artificial intelligence company that was violating Texas privacy law; 
• Issuing dozens of privacy violation notices to companies violating the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act; and 
• Taking aggressive action against noncompliant data brokers, increasing the number of data brokers registered with the Texas Secretary of State to over 200. 

In July 2024, the Texas Attorney General’s Office also established a new portal for consumers to submit privacy complaints, receiving over 2,000 complaints over the past year. 

The Texas Attorney General’s Office oversees the enforcement of the full slate of privacy and technology-related laws of the State of Texas, which includes the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act, the Texas Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act, the Texas Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing law, the Texas Data Broker law, the Securing Children Online Through Parental Empowerment Act, and the Texas Identity Theft Enforcement and Protection Act.