Scale AI faces EU privacy complaints over alleged worker surveillance

European privacy advocacy group NOYB lodged five complaints on October 27 in France, Italy, the Netherlands and Austria, accusing Scale AI’s Outlier platform of illegally monitoring freelance workers who generate training data for AI models. The complaints allege continuous tracking of keystrokes, mouse movements and device activity, as well as invasive biometric verification. Scale AI responded on October 28, calling the allegations “unfounded” and asserting that all monitoring is disclosed and consented to by contributors.

Scale AI Accused of Tracking Keystrokes and Mouse Movements of AI Trainers Scale AI Accused of Tracking Freelancers’ Keystrokes and Mouse Activity The Straits TimesEuronewsEU privacy advocates accuse Scale AI of tracking contractors The Straits TimesThe Register UK

Outlier, operated by Scale AI, contracts more than 900,000 freelancers to label data and perform annotation tasks for clients such as Meta, OpenAI, Google and the U.S. government. The EU has intensified scrutiny of AI-related data practices, with recent investigations into OpenAI and Anthropic and a broader “digital sovereignty” movement. A 2021 fine against delivery platform Glovo for similar privacy issues was cited by NOYB as precedent.

Euronews

• October 27 – NOYB files complaints in four EU states, alleging illegal surveillance and biometric data collection.

EU privacy advocates accuse Scale AI of tracking contractors

• October 28 – Scale AI issues a statement rejecting the complaints as inaccurate and emphasizing consent and standard security tools.

The Straits Times

• Freelancer pool: > 900,000 workers on Outlier.

Scale AI Accused of Tracking Freelancers’ Keystrokes and Mouse Activity

• Tracking software: Complaints cite up to 19 trackers recording activity every few seconds, capable of reconstructing a full work-session video.

EU privacy advocates accuse Scale AI of tracking contractors

• Incentives: Bonuses of US $100–$200 for completing 200 tasks within 24 hours.

The Straits Times

• Biometric checks: Workers must submit ID documents and a facial video to verification firm Persona, which also gathers IP addresses, device information, geolocation, addresses and credit data.

AI training platform Outlier illegally surveils European platform workers

• Data-request gap: Four workers who asked for copies of their personal data between December 2025 and May 2026 received no response.

Scale AI Accused of Tracking Freelancers’ Keystrokes and Mouse Activity

• Scale AI: The company says its platform discloses all monitoring practices, requires explicit consent, and uses “standard tools” for identity verification, fraud prevention, protection of confidential project information and accurate payment. It notes that certain projects employ a separate time-tracking tool that contributors must manually activate. Scale also asserts it does not sell personal data to third parties or use it to train customers’ AI models.

The Straits TimesEU privacy advocates accuse Scale AI of tracking contractors EuronewsThe Register UKAI training platform Outlier illegally surveils European platform workers Scale AI Accused of Tracking Keystrokes and Mouse Movements of AI Trainers

• NOYB: The group argues that the tracking software lacks a legal basis under EU law, that biometric verification breaches GDPR rules on special-category data, and that the constant data flow to third-party services enables profiling and targeted advertising. NOYB requests full investigations and, where appropriate, administrative fines.

The Register UK

Data-protection lawyer Lisa Steinfeld Leiser of NOYB called the constant tracking “against all reasonable expectations,” questioning why social-media platforms should know which tasks workers are performing.

EU privacy advocates accuse Scale AI of tracking contractors

The dispute centers on whether Outlier’s monitoring is lawful consent-based or constitutes illegal surveillance. Scale AI maintains that consent is obtained and tools are standard, while NOYB contends that the breadth of data collection and lack of a clear legal basis violate GDPR. The complaints also highlight a lack of response to data-access requests, leaving a gap in transparency about how personal information is stored and shared.

EU privacy advocates accuse Scale AI of tracking contractors

The case underscores tensions between the rapid expansion of AI training workforces and EU data-protection standards. A ruling against Scale AI could set precedent for how gig-style platforms handle biometric and behavioral data, influencing broader EU policy on digital sovereignty and the rights of freelance workers in the AI supply chain.

Euronews