Texas CUBI (2009)
Texas Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act (Bus. & Com. Code §503.001)
TX · Tex. Bus. & Com. Code §503.001 (2009)
- Status
- In effect
- Took effect
- September 1, 2009
- Applies to
- Persons capturing biometric identifiers for commercial purpose
- Enforced by
- Texas Attorney General
Enacted in 2009, the Texas Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act (CUBI) was the second state biometric privacy law in the country (after Illinois BIPA). It requires consent before commercial biometric capture and caps damages at $25,000 per violation. AG Paxton used CUBI to secure a $1.4B Meta settlement (2024) and $1.375B Google settlement (2025) — making it the most-recovered state biometric statute.
Who is protected: Texas residents subject to biometric capture
Legal detail
Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 503.001 (enacted 2009 by H.B. 2278, 81st Leg.) — prohibits commercial capture of biometric identifiers (retina/iris scan, fingerprint, voiceprint, hand or face geometry) without consent; restricts sale, lease, disclosure; requires destruction within reasonable time (no later than 1 year after purpose of collection expires). Enforcement is exclusively by the Texas Attorney General; civil penalty up to $25,000 per violation. No private right of action (distinguishing CUBI from BIPA). Major settlements: $1.4B with Meta (2024) and $1.375B with Google (2025).
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | TX |
|---|---|
| Level | State |
| Strength | Stronger |
| Enacted | April 23, 2009 |
| Citation | Tex. Bus. & Com. Code §503.001 (2009) |
| Private right of action | No, agency enforcement only |
| Penalties | Civil penalty up to $25,000 per violation |
| Topics | biometric data · facial recognition · consumer data privacy |
| Statute | Tex. Bus. & Com. Code §503.001 — Texas Statutes |
More AI rules in TX
- Texas v. Google · In effect
- Texas v. Allstate / Arity · In effect
- Texas v. Pieces Technologies · In effect
- TX SB 751 (2019, first state election deepfake law) · In effect
- Texas v. Google ($1.375B) · In effect
Related biometric data rules elsewhere
- Virginia § 15.2-1723.2 (facial recognition by local law enforcement, eff. July 1, 2026) · In effect
- Bristol VA PD facial recognition program (first VA local agency) · In effect
- Dallas PD Clearview AI facial recognition policy · In effect
- Ban biometric recognition in public accommodations (Ban The Scan) · Proposed / pending
- Limit facial recognition in residential buildings (Ban The Scan) · Proposed / pending
- Attorney General Ellison releases consumer alert on DHS' digital… · In effect
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