Ken Paxton Delivers Massive Legal Victory as Google Pays the Price for Secretly Tracking Americans’ Movements, Voiceprints, and Faces
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has scored a historic win against Google, securing a $1.375 billion settlement in a blockbuster privacy case that exposes Big Tech’s secret surveillance empire.
The landmark figure dwarfs similar settlements by nearly 40 other states combined, showcasing Paxton’s relentless pursuit of justice for Texans against one of the most powerful corporations on Earth.
“This is a major win for Texans’ privacy,” Paxton declared. “Big Tech is not above the law. I fought back—and I won.”
Google’s Covert Tracking Scheme: What the Lawsuit Exposed
In a 44-page lawsuit filed in 2022, Paxton laid out explosive claims that Google misled millions of users by falsely promising privacy controls—while secretly tracking their precise locations, scanning facial geometry, and collecting voiceprints behind the scenes.
Key findings include:
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Location tracking continued even when “Location History” was turned off
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Google used hidden settings like “Web & App Activity” to keep logging data
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Data was stored in internal databases with Orwellian names like “Footprints”
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Texans were deceived by confusing privacy settings designed to mislead
The lawsuit accused Google of harvesting sensitive personal information such as:
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Home/work addresses, religious affiliations, and medical conditions
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Sexual orientation, income levels, and major life events
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All collected without meaningful user consent
Even with tracking “disabled,” Google reportedly used Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and IP addresses to pinpoint user locations, violating privacy in ways that shocked investigators.
A Warning Shot to Silicon Valley
The historic settlement makes clear: Texas won’t tolerate tech tyranny.
“Companies like Google think they can profit off our private lives and get away with it,” Paxton said. “Not in Texas.”
This case serves as a blueprint for future legal action nationwide—and a warning to tech giants that the days of unregulated data harvesting may be coming to an end.
The Big Picture: Paxton’s War on Big Tech
This isn’t the first time Ken Paxton has taken on Big Tech’s abuses—and won.
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He’s previously sued Twitter, Meta (Facebook), and YouTube over censorship and data privacy
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He’s launched investigations into algorithmic discrimination and election interference
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And now, he’s delivered one of the largest tech privacy settlements in U.S. history
With this latest victory, Paxton continues to position himself as America’s top legal warrior against Silicon Valley’s unchecked power.