Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) search engine Google has been sued by a Texas state court for illegally using biometric identifiers on face and voice recognition without the user’s consent. Using these identifiers for promotional and other corporate activity without proper approval is against state law, a WSJ report stated.
Google’s practices date back to 2015, and the district court has cited the privacy issues of millions of Texans in the complaint. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, representing the case, is determined to fight against the indiscriminate practices of big tech.
The case alleges that Google uses the features in Google Photos, Google Assistant, and Nest smart-home products to collect user-sensitive information. Furthermore, the complaint alleges that these identifiers are used for artificial intelligence (AI) based algorithms and for selling cloud storage offerings.
The complaint read, “Google has now spent years unlawfully capturing the faces and voices of both non-consenting users and non-users throughout Texas—including our children and grandparents, who simply have no idea that their biometric information is being mined for profit by a global corporation.”
Meanwhile, Jose Castaneda, Google’s spokesman, said that Google’s features can be easily turned off if the users wish and are only a means to help them organize their pictures on the cloud. Google “is once again mischaracterizing our products in another breathless lawsuit… We will set the record straight in court,” Castaneda said.
Is Google a Strong Buy?
On TipRanks, GOOGL stock commands a Strong Buy consensus rating. This is based on 29 Buys and one Hold. The average Alphabet price target of $141.07 implies 41.1% upside potential to current levels. Meanwhile, the stock has lost 31.1% so far this year.
