UK firm Barings Law rallies 15,000 claimants against Google and Microsoft over data allegedly used to train AI

What happened: Manchester-based law firm Barings Law has rallied 15,000 claimants to sue Google and Microsoft in the UK over alleged misuse of personal data for AI development. Following a two-year investigation (findings published in late 2024), the firm claims significant amounts of data the two companies collected — including user voices, demographics, time spent on apps, and personal information such as email addresses and the contents of emails — were used in training and developing AI models without proper authorisation or consent. The firm has invited users of YouTube, Gmail, Google Docs, Google Maps, LinkedIn, OneDrive, Outlook, Microsoft 365 and Xbox to join the case. Head of Data Protection Adnan Malik said in a January 14 public statement that the 15,000 sign-ups show 'growing public demand for accountability in the face of persistent data privacy issues'.

Why it matters to creators: The claim explicitly names user voices and creative-adjacent content collected across Google's and Microsoft's consumer services as AI training material taken without consent — the same no-consent training pipeline at issue in the copyright suits. It also frames the transparency gap: users may know data is collected, but not that it feeds large language models.

Not yet known: Whether the group claim has been formally filed, the legal basis pleaded (data protection vs. contract/copyright), and what Google and Microsoft say in response — the report carries no company comment.