As the U.S. Department of Justice pushes for more aggressive antitrust enforcement against Big Tech and the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month advanced bipartisan legislation called the Open Markets Act to rein in technology companies, plaintiffs firms are leveraging the momentum with an eye toward increased litigation.

On Feb. 14, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Meta Platforms Inc., formerly known as Facebook, for allegedly violating the Texas Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act and deceiving consumers by repeatedly capturing biometric identifiers without users' consent. Paxton tapped an attorney team of McKool Smith and Keller Lenkner to file the complaint.

"The magnitude of the potential liability stemming from [Attorney] General Paxton's allegations is staggering," Keller Lenkner's partner Zina Bash said. Texas alleges three violations related to the record of face geometry, disclosing these records to another entity and keeping them beyond reasonable time. "That is a penalty of up to $75,000 for every face ever captured in any photo or video ever uploaded in Texas since the launch of Tag Suggestions in 2010/2011," Bash added.