A significant legal battle looms as Barings Law launches a class action against Microsoft and Google for alleged unlawful data collection.
- Barings Law accuses the tech giants of gathering extensive user data for AI training, raising privacy concerns.
- The firm’s nearly two-year investigation uncovered potential misuse of personal data across popular platforms like Gmail, YouTube, and Outlook.
- Barings Law aims to set a precedent in data privacy with thousands expected to join the lawsuit.
- Adnan Malik, head of data breach, emphasizes the need to protect user rights in the face of advancing technology.
A Northern law firm, Barings Law, has embarked on a potentially groundbreaking class action lawsuit against Microsoft and Google, alleging illegal data collection practices. Specializing in data privacy claims, the firm is actively signing up clients who believe their data has been wrongfully used to develop artificial intelligence (AI).
The allegations against the tech giants are serious, with Barings Law claiming that a wide array of user data, such as voice recordings, email contents, and demographic details, have been collected without proper consent. This data, they argue, is being utilized to train various large language models supporting AI technologies.
Barings Law’s investigation, spanning nearly two years, has led them to launch a national campaign inviting users of Microsoft and Google’s platforms to join the lawsuit. They list services like YouTube, Gmail, LinkedIn, OneDrive, and more as areas where data collection has occurred without adequate transparency or user permission.
With more than 1.6 billion active Windows devices and over 1.8 billion Gmail users worldwide, the scale of this legal challenge is unprecedented. Despite this, Barings Law is undeterred, drawing on their experience from prior high-profile cases such as the Capita and Ministry of Defense data breaches.
Adnan Malik, leading the charge at Barings Law, describes the situation as a wake-up call for data privacy standards worldwide. He stresses the rights of individuals to know how their data is stored and used, urging them to consider opting out of using their personal information for AI advancements that profit tech companies.
Malik’s perspective echoes the broader global sentiment that personal data has become a valuable commodity in the digital age. He highlights the illegality of unauthorized data collection and the necessity for society to reevaluate its stance on data privacy. His assertions are mirrored in a similar case in the United States, where a class action lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft is underway.
As Barings Law prepares to initiate court proceedings in early 2025, they call on affected users to contribute to a movement striving for more stringent data privacy regulations. Their message is clear: the fight for control over personal data is just beginning, but the firm is ready to tackle its challenges head-on.
Barings Law’s action against Microsoft and Google marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing dialogue about data privacy and user rights.
