Google can question Texas officials in privacy lawsuit, appeals court rules

Texas had fought the inquiry, saying Google was trying to “investigate the investigator” [File]
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Google has a right to question Texas officials in a lawsuit accusing the Alphabet unit of unlawfully collecting biometric privacy data of millions of Texans without consent, a state appeals court has ruled.

The decision by the Austin, Texas-based 15th Court of Appeals on Thursday reversed a lower ruling that barred the technology giant from deposing the state about its internal communications and key terms in the privacy law at the center of the 2022 lawsuit.

Texas had fought the inquiry, saying Google was trying to “investigate the investigator.”

Google and Texas did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The lawsuit accused Google of deceptive trade practices and alleged it violated a state law that shields biometric identifiers such as faces, fingerprints and eye scans from being captured without approval.

Google unlawfully collected biometric data through Google Photos, Google Assistant and Nest Hub Max, Texas said. The privacy law sets out penalties of up to $25,000 per violation. Google has denied any wrongdoing.

Lawyers for Texas told the appeals court that “Google has sought and received substantial discovery from the state,” and so there was no need for an “improper and unduly burdensome deposition.”

The appeals court in its 2-1 order said a Texas court rule at issue was “unambiguously broad and certainly encompasses a right to depose any entity that is a party to a lawsuit.”

A dissenting judge said Google “has other adequate legal remedies without this unprecedented deposition.”