European digital rights group noyb has filed five privacy complaints against Scale AI, accusing it of “invasive” surveillance of the freelancers who help train artificial intelligence models.
The complaints were filed in France, Italy, the Netherlands and Austria. They target Outlier, the gig-work platform run by San Francisco-based Scale AI, which Google, Meta and OpenAI use.
Noyb alleges that the platform records freelancers’ mouse clicks and keystrokes as they work. It says 18 third-party trackers run on the platform for French workers alone. Workers must also hand over biometric data through the identity verification service Persona.
The group is asking for fines and for government investigations into Scale AI’s practices.
The case could become an important test of how the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applies to the hidden workforce behind AI. GDPR requires that collecting personal data be lawful, transparent and limited to what is necessary. Keystroke logging and biometric checks are likely to face close scrutiny on all three counts, and biometric data gets extra protection under the law.
The complaints also highlight a power imbalance. Freelancers competing for tasks may have little real choice but to accept monitoring, which weakens any claim that they freely consented.
Noyb’s record gives the challenge weight. Its past complaints have contributed to a €530 million fine against TikTok and a €1.2 billion fine against Meta.
For AI companies, the stakes go beyond one platform. If regulators side with noyb, firms that rely on outsourced data workers in Europe may have to rethink how they verify, monitor and track them, which would raise costs across the AI supply chain.
