Ken Paxton is a dichotomous wonder of epic proportions. Depending on who you talk to, he’s either an extraordinary advocate for everyday people or a politician who skirts the boundaries of the law.
Google illegally maintains monopoly over internet search, judge rules
A federal judge has ruled that Google violated antitrust laws by creating a monopoly with its popular search engine.
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Depending on how you look at him, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is either a hero or a villain.
In Texas, he’s both. But in the fight against Big Tech, Paxton is on the side of the angels.
Vilified by House Republicans last year who voted to impeach him (he was acquitted in the Senate), lauded by everyday conservatives as a champion of the people, bane of the existence of the Texas news media and Democrats, Paxton recently delivered a win that Democrats and Republicans can pump their fist at in celebration.
Ken Paxton 1, Mark Zuckerberg 0
Facebook’s parent company Meta has agreed to pay Texas a historic $1.4 billion to settle a lawsuit that Paxton brought on behalf of the state. The lawsuit accused Mark Zuckerberg’s company of using personal biometric data without users’ permission. It’s the largest legal settlement a single state has ever obtained.
Paxton filed the lawsuit in 2022, based on a state law on the books that protects Texans’ biometric data.
In 2011, Meta introduced “Tag Suggestions,” which helped users tag people in photos. Paxton argued in the scathing lawsuit that the company ran facial recognition on users’ photos until 2021, when Tag Suggestions was discontinued. While Meta maintains its innocence, the company did admit to deleting over 1 billion people’s facial recognition data when it stopped the program.
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Meta must pay the first installment of $500 million to the state in a few weeks; the rest can be paid every year through 2028. It’s not clear how or where the funds will be distributed. Texas boasts one of the largest economies in the world and enjoys a nearly $33 billion surplus.
Paxton’s fight against Big Tech is not over. He sued Google in 2020, and a federal court ruled Wednesday in Paxton’s favor, saying that “Google illegally maintained a monopoly by exploiting its dominance to squash competition and hamper innovation,” according to the attorney general.
Paxton: People’s advocate or slimy politician?
Paxton is a dichotomous wonder of epic proportions here in Texas. Depending on who you talk to, he’s either an extraordinary advocate for the everyday Texan or a slimy politician who skirts the boundaries of the law and keeps getting away with it.
If you’re not familiar, here’s a primer on Paxton: He’s a Republican who’s been in politics for decades, starting first as a legislator in the state House and then the Senate. He’s been the attorney general since 2015.
It’s easy to see why he keeps winning elections.
Paxton flashes a charismatic appeal and wields his power as attorney general like a weapon, suing for executive overreach on the border, Medicaid fraud and misleading advertisements by wireless carriers (which won him another settlement).
He’s notoriously litigious, often using his role as the state’s lawyer to sue businesses, schools, nonprofits and even President Joe Biden.
This kind of Republican − a Jon Snow unsheathing his Longclaw for an epic battle − endears him to people in Texas, many of whom also love Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. These voters have thought for a long time that they’ve been on the political and legal defensive and that they had no advocate against the federal government and power-hungry Democrats.
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To an extent, the combativeness is understandable. Paxton’s legal interventions − particularly regarding the Biden administration’s attempt to remove border buoys in the Rio Grande used to discourage illegal immigration − are valid and necessary.
But Paxton also has a history of being the target of indictments and investigations. In 2020, the FBI launched an investigation into Paxton, as a result of a whistleblower lawsuit, for allegedly abusing his power as attorney general to help donor and friend Nate Paul.
Paxton was accused of bribery, obstruction of justice, conspiracy and more. The state House of Representatives brought 16 articles of impeachment against him and a trial ensued. To the surprise of many of us who watched the trial, including myself, he was acquitted.
Paxton also was indicted on securities fraud charges in 2015. The attorney general agreed to a plea deal, which included community service, and the charges were finally dropped.
Paxton has waged war on Big Tech
Paxton’s allies claim such allegations demonstrate that the work he’s doing is vital: He’s such an important advocate for the people that institutions like the FBI and even state Republican and Democratic lawmakers must take him down.
Many others, however, say Paxton is a one-man show who’s in politics for himself, skirts the law when he can and − in cases like the settlements with Google and Meta − occasionally gets the football into the end zone.
But when it comes to Big Tech, the people do need an advocate. Paxton’s lawsuit against Meta over facial recognition is just one example of Big Tech’s massive and intrusive reach into our lives.
Google, Meta and others have a power over the people that few other entities have. Who do you know who doesn’t use a smartphone? Doesn’t turn to Google to search the internet? Or rely on social media for news, information and personal interactions? Virtually everyone does.
The tech companies’ algorithms are so powerful they can set the agenda for the news and information you see, hear and read. Should they have the power to dictate who has a voice? Who and what get censored and who and what don’t? How much of your personal information should they be allowed to collect, control and keep?
Paxton’s legal troubles may continue to hound him, and perhaps they should. But his legal victories over the Big Tech firms are worth celebrating.
The people need an advocate against Big Tech. In the battle between Ken Paxton and Mark Zuckerberg, I’ll take the fiery Texan.
Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist with USA TODAY. She lives in Texas with her four kids. Sign up for her newsletter, The Right Track, and get it delivered to your inbox.