AI systems rely on significant labour for their training and deployment. There are millions of data workers in the world who feed AI systems by producing, categorising and correcting data. In some cases, data workers may also replace the AI system itself, as in the case of video surveillance supposedly detecting shoplifting in real time. IAA claims that the systematic violation of data workers fundamental rights, including digital rights, has been so far neglected by policymakers and regulators. They will advance this issue by addressing legal liability of companies through two legal proceedings.
Exploitation of workers who train AI systems
Organisation Name
Interet A Agir (IAA)
Country/Jurisdiction
France, Germany, Italy
Grant Amount
EUR 100,741
Current Status
Ongoing
Image credit: Photo by Ron Lach on Pexels
Grant type
Litigation Track Support
Description
AI systems rely on significant labour for their training and deployment. There are millions of data workers in the world who feed AI systems by producing, categorising and correcting data. In some cases, data workers may also replace the AI system itself, as in the case of video surveillance supposedly detecting shoplifting in real time. IAA claims that the systematic violation of data workers fundamental rights, including digital rights, has been so far neglected by policymakers and regulators. They will advance this issue by addressing legal liability of companies through two legal proceedings.
In September 2026, based on research by Intérêt à Agir and DipLab documenting serious risks faced by data workers, a formal notice was issued against TELEPERFORMANCE SE. The formal legal action was initiated by T-FAPT, the CGT’s national federation representing workers in the postal and telecommunications sectors, together with the Data Labelers Association and The Oversight Lab Africa, two Kenyan organisations working to defend the rights and protection of data workers. The investigations were carried out among current and former Teleperformance employees in Nairobi working in online content moderation for a social media platform. They documented serious risks to the fundamental rights, health and safety of data workers employed by the multinational group.
According to Interet a Agir, the formal notice calls on Teleperformance to strengthen its vigilance measures and address the risks identified across its global digital labour chain. Interet a Agir state that the signatories of the formal notice may bring court proceedings against Teleperformance if they do not comply.
"IAA claims that the systematic violation of data workers fundamental rights, including digital rights, has been so far neglected by policymakers and regulators"
Strategic Goals
- End the systematic violation of data workers’ fundamental rights by the targeted companies and the improvement of their working conditions.
- To send a strong message to other companies in the AI services supply chain.
- To raise awareness of the appalling conditions of the data workforce, showing that AI services are nothing more than a new global value chain that pushes the exploitation of humans and the destruction of nature to a climax – and that needs to be regulated.