noyb files five complaints against Scale AI over alleged monitoring of Outlier workers

Mixed · 2The European digital privacy group noyb filed five complaints against Scale AI in France, Italy, the Netherlands and Austria on 27 October 2026, alleging it illegally monitored freelance workers who produce training data for AI models. 1 2 Mixed · 2The complaints target Outlier, a platform on which more than 900,000 freelancers perform tasks that are recorded to create AI training data for clients such as Meta, OpenAI and Google; Meta owns 49 per cent of Scale AI. 1 2 Centre · 1noyb is asking regulators to fine Scale AI and to examine how the platform assigns tasks. 1

Mixed · 2According to the complaints, seen by Reuters, up to 19 trackers follow workers as they work, recording keystrokes and mouse movements every few seconds; an investigation by the Paris-based research collective DiPLab found the resulting file could be rebuilt into a video replaying a work session from start to finish. 1 2 Mixed · 2Workers must also submit ID documents and face video to the identity verification firm Persona; the complaints say these checks were invasive, repeated without explanation and broke EU rules on biometric data. 1 2 Centre · 1Thomas Le Bonniec, who spent two years studying the platform for DiPLab, said workers do not choose when to work: "You work when the platform wants you to and there are tasks available." He said Outlier offered bonuses of $100 to $200 for completing 200 tasks in 24 hours, citing worker interviews, and noted that Italy's data protection authority fined the delivery platform Glovo in 2021 over similar gamification. 1

Right · 1The complaints also say four workers asked Outlier for copies of their data between December 2025 and May 2026 and none received an answer. 2 Mixed · 2Scale AI did not immediately respond to a request for comment, so its response to the allegations is not yet known. 1 2