EU privacy advocates accuse US data annotation firm of snooping on contractors
Privacy group noyb has filed five complaints under the EU’s GDPR against US data annotation firm Scale AI, alleging that its Outlier platform unlawfully tracks European contractors. The case raises questions about how much monitoring is reasonable when remote workers use digital platforms to complete tasks that help develop AI systems.
The complaints, filed in France, Italy, the Netherlands and Austria, say Outlier uses Persona to verify workers’ identities and collect biometric and other personal data. Noyb also alleges that Scale monitors device activity, including outside work on Outlier, and shares data with services such as LinkedIn, TikTok and Facebook as often as every few seconds. It argues that this lacks a legal basis, exceeds what is necessary and may breach workers’ data access rights; Scale called the report’s claims “unfounded and inaccurate” and said its practices are disclosed and require contributors’ consent.
In short
- Noyb filed five GDPR complaints against Scale AI.
- The allegations concern identity checks and extensive worker tracking.
- Scale says its practices are disclosed and require consent.
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The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Scale AI may argue that identity checks and activity monitoring help prevent fraud, protect accounts and ensure the reliability of work used to develop AI systems. It says its practices are disclosed and require contributors’ consent, and may contend that collecting and sharing some data is necessary to operate the platform securely and effectively.
The case against
Noyb’s case is that biometric checks and monitoring that extends beyond work on Outlier collect more personal data than is needed, without a sufficient legal basis or meaningful consent. It argues that frequent sharing with third-party services and barriers to accessing personal data undermine contractors’ privacy and their rights under the GDPR.
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