Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Meta, Facebook's parent company, on Monday for its unauthorized access to users' biometric data, including the use of facial-recognition software to gather and sell data from users and non-users alike.

Paxton alleges in his suit that Facebook stores biometric identifiers from photos or videos uploaded to the app, regardless of whether the person is a Facebook user or not. Facebook has done this without the users’ and non-users’ knowledge, and Paxton alleges it is doing it for profit.

“Facebook will no longer take advantage of people and their children with the intent to turn a profit at the expense of one's safety and well-being. This is yet another example of Big Tech's deceitful business practices and it must stop,” Paxton said in a press release.

Paxton claims Meta broke several Texas laws prohibiting the capture of biometric data and consumer protection laws. The lawsuit claims that 20.5 million Texans use Facebook compared to only 12 million a decade ago.

“Facebook was disclosing users' personal information to other private entities who further exploited it,” the lawsuit claims, but does not specify the identity of those entities.

Facebook paid $650 million in a similar suit in Illinois and paid the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) billions. The lawsuit also cites Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen's released documents and complaints against the social media company for allowing multiple avenues of harm across the Facebook platform to continue.

While Facebook claims it has stopped these unlawful procedures and practices as of late 2021, the lawsuit claims Texans may seek justice for the decade-long exploitation of their personal information.

“There can be no free pass for Facebook unlawfully invading privacy rights of tens of millions of Texas residents by misappropriating their data and putting one of their most personal and valuable possessions, records of their facial geometry, at risk from hackers and bad actors, all to build an AI-powered virtual reality empire,” the lawsuit reads.

The claim adds another dimension to the illegal collection of data, alleging that Facebook was collecting this data not only to sell it, but to help build the metaverse. Meta denies the allegations and said it will fight the lawsuit.

“These claims are without merit and we will defend ourselves vigorously,” Meta responded in a statement sent to NPR and other media outlets.

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