Published 08:16 IST, August 5th 2020
European Union launches in-depth investigation into Google's Fitbit acquisition
European Union's top antitrust regulator said that it is concerned that the takeover would further boost Google's market status in online advertising
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The European Commission on Tuesday, August 4, announced an in-depth antitrust investigation into Google's Fitbit acquisition. As per reports, European Union's top antitrust regulator said that it is concerned that the takeover would further boost Google's market status in online advertising by adding to the vast amount of data that Google could use to push targetted ads.
$2.1 billion deal
According to the reports, Google announced that it was acquiring Fitbit, the world's leading maker of wearable fitness activity trackers, in November. The deal was locked at $2.1 billion and considered to be one of Google's largest acquisitions in smartwatches and wearable devices.
The EU had previously launched a preliminary probe into the transaction to see if the deal would allow Google to drive rival manufactures of wearable devices, app developers, and other online service providers out of business. As per reports, the Commission's top antitrust official, Margrethe Vestager, said that their investigation aims to ensure that Google not using Fitbit health and wellness data for its own ads.
As per reports, EU regulators are concerned that that the entirety of Fitbit’s data about its users -- such as health status, location, heart rate and calorie burned -- will expand the Alphabet Inc. owned tech giant's market dominance and monopoly.
Meanwhile, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) too has been wary of the deal and has launched its own investigation as per international media reports. Much like the EU regulators, the ACCC is concerned about the long term affects this deal could have on digital marketing and health markets.
ACCC chair Rod Sims has claimed that Fitbit has been gathering user’s health data for almost a decade now and that this deal will allow Google to get a more comprehensive set of user data, as reported. As per ACCC, Google’s monopoly lies in its vast search and location data as well as the background data it has collected through third-party apps.
Image: AP
08:16 IST, August 5th 2020