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Noyb Files Five Complaints Against Scale AI Over Alleged Surveillance of Outlier Workers, Reuters Reports

Bot Mutiny | October 28, 2026

The European privacy group noyb filed five complaints on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, against Scale AI in France, Italy, the Netherlands and Austria, alleging that the company illegally monitored freelance workers who produce training data for artificial intelligence models, Reuters reported. The complaints target Outlier, a platform on which more than 900,000 freelancers perform various tasks that are recorded to create AI training data for clients such as Meta, OpenAI and Google, according to Reuters. Reuters also reported that Meta owns 49% of Scale AI.

Noyb is asking regulators to fine Scale AI and to examine how the platform assigns tasks. Scale did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. The allegations below come from the complaints as seen by Reuters and from a researcher quoted in its report. The Reuters report does not say whether any regulator has acted on them.

What the complaints say about worker tracking

According to the complaints seen by Reuters, up to 19 trackers follow workers while they work, including recording keystrokes and mouse movements every few seconds. Reuters reported that an investigation by DiPLab, a Paris-based research collective, found the resulting file could be rebuilt into a video that replays a work session from start to finish.

Identity checks and biometric data

Workers must also submit ID documents and face video to the identity verification firm Persona, Reuters reported. The complaints said the checks were invasive, were repeated without explanation, and broke EU rules on biometric data. The Reuters report did not include a response from Persona.

Task assignment and bonuses

Thomas Le Bonniec, who spent two years studying the platform for DiPLab, told Reuters: "You don't work when you want. You work when the platform wants you to and there are tasks available."

Reuters reported that Outlier also uses game-like mechanisms, and that DiPLab found bonuses are a key part of its incentive system. Le Bonniec said, citing interviews with workers during his investigation, that Outlier offered bonuses of $100 to $200 for completing 200 tasks in 24 hours. He added that Italy's data protection authority fined the delivery platform Glovo in 2021 over similar gamification.

Data access requests

The complaints said four workers asked Outlier for copies of their data between December 2025 and May 2026, and that none received an answer.

What is not yet known

The complaints are allegations from a privacy group, and Scale AI did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. The Reuters report does not say which national regulators will take up each of the five complaints, how quickly they might act, or what size of fine noyb is asking for.