A law firm based in Manchester has gathered around 15,000 claimants for an impending data breach lawsuit against Microsoft and Google.
The firm began signing up clients in November 2024 for a class action against the US tech giants. It believes them to be illegally collecting and using peoples’ data to train their artificial intelligence (AI) models.
The firm, which has litigated on several data breach cases, including the Capita cyber attack and the leaking of medical records in the South Staffs Water hack, managed to assemble over 10,000 sign-ups in just under a month, it said.
This followed, it said, a two-year investigation by the firm, which has found evidence that significant amounts of non-consented data collected by Microsoft and Google is being used in training and developing large language AI models.
“We are pleased to have accumulated such a vast number of sign-ups for this landmark case,” said Adnan Malik, head of data protection at Barings Law.
“The swift response from 15,000 claimants highlights the growing public demand for accountability in the face of persistent data privacy issues, and our dedicated team at Barings Law is intent on seeing this demand met.
“With our history of tackling significant data breach cases, we are committed to challenging the pervasive misuse of personal data by corporations, ensuring that privacy is not sacrificed in the name of technological advancement.”
The firm alleges a raft of data privacy transgressions, including the collection of information regarding users’ voices, demographics, time spent on apps, and personal information including email addresses and the contents of emails.
Malik said the numbers of claimants were a significant step forward in the firm’s pursuit of the case. “We still have a way to go, but the numbers in such a short space of time demonstrate people’s determination to fight for more accountability from major corporations and the safeguarding of their personal data,” he added.
Barings claims the use of personal data for the training of Google’s and Microsoft’s AI models is being done without proper authorisation or consent from users, who may understand data is being collected, but be unaware of the role this data plays in the training of AI large language models.
It continues to invite anyone with a Microsoft or Google account, or those who’ve used either firm’s services, to join the lawsuit. This includes those who have used platforms and services such as YouTube, Gmail, Google Docs, Google Maps, LinkedIn, OneDrive, Outlook, Microsoft 365 and Xbox.
When the firm announced the recruitment of clients for a class action in November 2024, Malik said: “Individuals have the right to know what data of theirs is being stored and what it is being used for. They also have the right to opt out of their behaviours, voice, likeness, habits and knowledge being used to train AI for the profit of tech giants.”
Many authors, artists and others are currently filing lawsuits against generative AI companies for using personal data to train their models. IT companies in the firing line include Meta, Google, GitHub, Microsoft, OpenAI, Stability AI, Midjourney, DeviantArt, as well as AI song-generator start-ups Suno and Udio.
