The European Centre for Digital Rights, known as Noyb, is filing five complaints against US-based artificial intelligence startup Scale AI over alleged violations of workers’ data protection rights on its Outlier platform.
The complaints, announced on Tuesday, October 27, concern the platform’s tracking of freelancers and the safeguards available to workers employed under its freelance contract model. Noyb said it was submitting two complaints in Austria and one each in France, the Netherlands and Italy.
Scale AI, headquartered in San Francisco, operates Outlier, a platform that recruits freelancers and subject-matter experts to help train, assess and improve artificial intelligence models. The service uses a platform-based employment model similar to those used by ride-hailing and food delivery companies.
According to Noyb, Outlier has more than 900,000 freelancers who evaluate and correct AI-generated responses. Its customers include Meta, OpenAI, Google and the US government, meaning workers contribute their expertise to systems developed and used by major technology companies.
The organisation alleges that Outlier collects extensive personal information and requires workers to undergo invasive biometric checks before they can earn money. It argues that the platform’s monitoring practices conflict with European data protection standards and workers’ expectations of privacy.
Noyb also claims that trackers operated by companies including TikTok, LinkedIn and Facebook are placed on workers’ devices while they use the platform. These trackers allegedly give the companies access to personal information, including IP addresses, contact details and data that could be used for targeted advertising and profiling.
“Such constant and extensive tracking while working really goes against all reasonable expectations. Why should LinkedIn or Facebook know which tasks you’re working on?” said Lisa Steinfeld Leiser, a data protection lawyer at Noyb.
The group said the alleged monitoring raised concerns about the handling of personal data in the workplace and the ability of freelancers to protect their information while carrying out assignments.
Noyb further alleges that workers must repeatedly complete biometric verification procedures administered by Persona, a separate company. The process reportedly requires workers to record videos of their faces and upload identification documents.
The complaints come as European authorities increase scrutiny of the artificial intelligence sector. The EU’s AI Office opened investigations into OpenAI and Anthropic earlier this month, reflecting broader concerns about the development and deployment of AI systems.
Regulatory approaches are also diverging internationally. In the United States, President Donald Trump signed an agreement with six major American AI companies allowing them to oversee aspects of their own development practices.
The dispute highlights a growing challenge for the industry: balancing the demand for large-scale human input to train AI systems with the privacy rights of the people providing that work. The allegations against Scale AI have yet to be established through the complaints process.
