A Northern law firm, which specialises in data privacy claims, has started onboarding clients for a probable class action against Microsoft and Google, which it believes to be unlawfully collecting and using peoples’ data to train Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Barings Law has announced it is going after the tech giants for a myriad of data misuses, including collecting extensive information about users’ voices, demographic, time spent on apps, personal details such as email addresses, contents of emails and more.
A near-two-year-long investigation by Barings has also revealed that a large array of data being stored is potentially being shared for the training and development of various AI large language models.
The firm’s recent findings have sparked a national marketing campaign targeting anyone with a Microsoft or Google account or those who’ve used their services.
These platforms include but are not limited to; YouTube, Gmail, Gmail messages, Google Docs, browsing history, map searches, docs, LinkedIn, OneDrive, Outlook, Microsoft 365, Xbox and more.
Barings Law expects to be inundated with thousands of sign-ups and plans to issue court proceedings at the beginning of 2025.
With reports detailing more than 1.6bn active Windows devices and over 1.8 billion Gmail users, this latest lawsuit will be no small feat, but it is one Barings says it is not backing down from.
The cyber security specialist firm has extensive experience in high-profile data breach cases, including the Capita cyber-attack, and the recent MoD data breach.
Set to be groundbreaking in the data privacy claims sector, Barings Law’s head of data breach, Adnan Malik, said the team are well prepared to take on the mammoth tech companies.
“This case is the Everest of data collection, but we are ready to fight for the right of secure privacy for Microsoft and Google users throughout the UK,” he said. “We are shocked and disgusted to learn about the level of data that has been and continues to be collected.
“Both companies are collecting data such as the sports teams you follow, the programming languages you prefer, the stocks you track, your local weather or traffic, the route you take to work and what your voice sounds like.”
With the wide-spread use of artificial intelligence networks transforming the world as we know it, Malik emphasised that this technology development must not come at the cost of privacy.
He added: “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.”
“As technologies continue to develop, individual data has become the most valuable commodity in the world. We know that it’s illegal to steal commodities like money, gold, oil. As a society we cannot accept that it’s acceptable to steal the commodity of personal data.”
As users become increasingly aware of this value, Malik said he expects greater global push back against data collection and usage.
In the United States, OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, and Microsoft are being sued in a different class action lawsuit over allegations they violated the privacy of hundreds of millions of internet users by secretly scraping vast amounts of personal data to train an artificial intelligence chatbot.
The lawsuit, filed on 28th June in federal court in San Francisco, seeks damages of USD $3 billion- a testament to the growing international concern for data security.
Back in the United Kingdom, Malik clarified that while the cases may be similar, Barings Law is bringing legal action against Microsoft and Google, not OpenAI.
He said Barings Law will continue to step away from the crowd and fight for what is right: “If you are shocked, upset, appalled, or annoyed that your data is being used without your knowledge and consent, my message to you is simple – do something about it by joining the fight. Sign up today and let’s take the future of our data and AI into our own hands,” he said.
Anyone who suspects they are eligible can join the claim at Barings Law here.
