The lawsuits name Mercor as defendant and unnamed contractor plaintiffs, with Meta already pausing work and investigating its relationship with the company. Other AI firms are reportedly reconsidering their ties. The specific federal statutes invoked remain unclear, as do the full details of Mercor's data-sharing agreements with its clients. The suits were filed in Northern California courts in late April.
Mercor's practices predate the breach. The company hired 30,000 contractors last year and previously attempted to purchase personal data through LinkedIn, including financial records and location histories. The company has denied the allegations as speculative and stated it complies with privacy law.
For attorneys, this matters because it tests how courts will treat data collection and AI training practices in the contractor economy. Meta's immediate pause signals reputational and contractual risk for data brokers serving AI companies. Watch for discovery to reveal what contractual language governed data use between Mercor and its clients—and whether those agreements adequately disclosed the scope of monitoring and model training to workers.