The next big power grab in AI? Why Meta’s Scale AI deal must be stopped

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Written by: Margarida Silva

Written by: Çağrı Çavuş

Published on: 16 June 2025

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Meta’s acquisition of Scale AI threatens to speed up concentration in the AI tech stack. It also raises concerns for the thousands of workers across the world who clean, label, annotate and add knowledge to Scale AI’s datasets.

As Scale AI operates subsidiaries in both the UK and Germany, this deal squarely falls within the remit of national competition authorities, and they must use their powers to block it.

Is Meta about to become one of the world’s biggest AI employers?

Meta has reportedly bought(opens in new window) a 49% stake in AI data labelling company Scale AI. The U.S. social media giant is set to pay up to $15 billion for the deal, marking Meta’s move to enter the race to dominate the infrastructure needed to develop AI models.

Scale AI is a US-based company founded and led by Alexandr Wang, the “world’s youngest self-made billionaire”(opens in new window) . Wang made his billions by setting up crowd work platforms and acting as an intermediary between AI companies and thousands of precarious workers across the world. This type of work is typically broken down into tasks, farmed out to a large number of supposedly independent contractors, and paid according to the quality of the tasks, leaving workers vulnerable to abuse and devoid of labour rights.

Scale AI has been one of the most criticised actors in this field. Its platform, Remotasks, has been accused of exploiting workers in Kenya(opens in new window) and the Philippines(opens in new window) , paying low wages, requiring long hours, imposing workplace surveillance and closing accounts at will, sometimes without releasing the overdue wages.

Workers can hardly expect better from Meta. The company has been repeatedly accused(opens in new window) of exploitative working conditions for its content moderators in Kenya and Ghana.

Meta’s move to become an AI platform

Besides data workers, the company has also been developing(opens in new window) an AI platform where customers can access models from direct competitors, such as OpenAI, Cohere, and Anthropic, among others. The acquisition of Scale AI threatens to put Meta in the driving seat of how models from competitors are developed and accessed, allowing them to limit the distribution of competitors or degrade the quality of the services they depend on.

Scale AI has also heavily pursued government contracts, particularly in the defence and military sectors. Their clients(opens in new window) include the U.S. Department of Defence, the U.S. Army, and the U.S. Air Force. Just in March, Scale AI was awarded(opens in new window) a multi-million-dollar deal to integrate AI agents in military decision-making.

Meta’s business model is best described as surveillance advertising(opens in new window) , harvesting vast amounts of personal data from across the web, including browsing habits, messages, and more, to fuel personalised ads. Meta’s individual profiles can include sensitive information on people’s religion, political affiliation, financial information, and mental and reproductive health. This data should not be collected in the first place, but it certainly cannot be fused with or used for developing military and defence AI products.

Competition authorities can’t repeat the WhatsApp and Instagram mistake

This deal is likely Meta’s strategic entry into the AI infrastructure space, positioning itself as a provider of not just models but the underlying technology, data, and labour needed to deploy AI.

It is reminiscent of Meta’s acquisition of seemingly unrelated Instagram and WhatsApp, which ultimately proved crucial to maintaining its dominance in social networking.

As per announcements, the deal would see Meta take a 49% stake in Scale AI. Further, Scale AI’s CEO will join Meta. This is likely an intentional move to prevent regulatory scrutiny from competition authorities, in line with similar moves made by Microsoft and Amazon.

However, UK and German regulators are not bound by a narrow and overtly formalistic understanding of ownership. Their laws empower their competition authorities to act when a company gains significant influence, not just outright control.

Meta’s acquisition of Scale AI is not just a business transaction. It’s a potential turning point in who controls the future of AI. For the sake of fair competition and the rights of thousands of data workers, regulators must act decisively. This deal must be blocked.