Texas AG ຟ້ອງ Google ໃນຂໍ້ກ່າວຫາວ່າໄດ້ຈັບຂໍ້ມູນໃບໜ້າ ແລະສຽງໂດຍບໍ່ໄດ້ຮັບຄວາມຍິນຍອມ

Topline

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a ກົດຫມາຍວ່າດ້ວຍ against Google on Thursday, alleging the tech giant violated a state consumer protection law by capturing millions of users’ facial and voice data without their consent, as facial recognition technology comes under increased scrutiny—though Google argued Paxton’s suit misrepresented its features.

ຂໍ້ເທັດຈິງສໍາຄັນ

The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Midland, Texas, claims the company’s Google Photos and Google Assistant apps, as well its Nest security camera—which records people who approach a front door—unlawfully took in biometric data from millions of Texans who use Google products.

By doing so, Google has “blatantly” violated a state law called the Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act since at least 2015, according to the suit.

The lawsuit alleges features such as “face grouping,” which creates albums of certain people based on facial recognition records in the Google Photos app, are both “invasive” and “dangerous” because voice and facial data, once “stolen,” cannot be erased or replaced.

Paxton is seeking civil penalties up to $25,000 for each violation.

Google’s biometric data serves its own “commercial ends,” Paxton claims, arguing it allows the company to enhance its face scanning abilities, driving its technological growth.

ຫົວ ໜ້າ ສຳ ຄັນ

A Google spokesperson argued Paxton has mischaracterized Google’s features, calling it “another breathless lawsuit.” In a statement to Forbes, the spokesperson said users can disable face-specific organization tools on Google Photos, as well as voice match and face match features on Nest, and that the company does not use the data for advertising purposes.

ກະທັດຮັດ

Paxton filed another lawsuit against Google in January, claiming false, scripted testimonials on iHeartRadio promoting its Pixel 4 smartphone ລະເມີດ the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act by misleading consumers. He sued the company again over allegations it “systematically” ຕິດຕາມ users’ location without consent, even when users thought they had disabled the tracking feature on their phones.

ຄວາມເປັນມາຫຼັກ

Facial recognition tools have drawn legal controversy in the past. Google agreed to pay $100 million to a group of Illinois residents in June to ຕົກລົງ a class-action lawsuit over Google Photos’ face grouping feature, which plaintiffs had argued violated the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act by collecting and storing the data without users’ consent. It came one year after a judge ordered Facebook to pay $650 million in another lawsuit in Illinois over the social media company’s use of biometric tools.

Contra

More than 400 police forces across the country, ລວມທັງ 57 in Texas, had partnered with Amazon’s doorbell surveillance company Ring—a competitor to Google’s Nest cameras—in 2019, giving them access to homeowners’ front-door video footage, the ຕອບວໍຊິງຕັນ reported. Under that partnership, police departments are required to request footage from homeowners. But that practice came under scrutiny in June, when Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey (D), sent a ຈົດຫມາຍ to Amazon questioning policy violations from 11 instances in which he said footage was taken without homeowners’ consent. An Amazon official claimed those instances involved “imminent danger of death or serious physical injury” in a written ການຕອບສະຫນອງ to Markey’s letter.

ອ່ານ​ເພີ່ມ​ເຕີມ

Texas sues Google for allegedly capturing biometric data of millions without consent (Reuters)

Texas Sues Google for Collecting Biometric Data Without Consent (ໜັງ ສືພິມ New York Times)