# EU privacy advocates accuse US data annotation firm of snooping on contractors

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/eu-privacy-advocates-accuse-us-data-annotation-firm-of-snooping-on-contractors/
- Published: 2026-10-27T17:29:00+00:00
- Original publisher: The Register
- Original article: https://www.theregister.com/legal/2026/10/27/eu-privacy-advocates-accuse-us-data-annotation-firm-of-snooping-on-contractors/5305757
- Topics: Americas, Celebrity, Entertainment, Europe, World

## Key points

- 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.

## Summary

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.

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