Photo by Elen Yatsenko on Unsplash [Download]

EUs antitrust probe of Google-Fitbit gets more time

European antitrust regulators now have until almost the end of the year to take a decision on whether to green light Googles planned acquisition of Fitbit.

EU regulators were quick to sound the alarm about letting the tech giant go shopping for such a major cache of sensitive personal data, with the European Data Protection Board warned in February that the proposed purchase poses a huge risk to privacy.

There is also a parallel concern that Fitbits fitness data could further consolidate Googles regional dominance in the ad market.

And last month EU competition regulators announced a full antitrust probe saying then they would take a decision within 90 working days.

A Commission spokeswoman confirmed the earlier provisional December 9 deadline has been pushed on in agreement with the parties citing Article 10 of the EUs Merger Regulation.

When EU regulators announced the in-depth probe, the Commission said it was concerned data gathered by Fitbit could lead to a distortion of competition if Google was allowed to assimilate the wearable maker and further entrench its dominance in online ad markets.

Other concerns include the impact on the nascent digital healthcare sector, and whether Google might be incentivised to degrade the interoperability of rival wearables with its Android OS once it has its own hardware skin in the game.

The tech giant, meanwhile, has offered assurances around the deal in an attempt to get it cleared claiming ahead of the Commissions probe announcement it would not use Fitbit health data for ad targeting, and suggesting that it would create a data silo for Fitbit data to keep it separate from other data holdings.

However regulators have expressed scepticism with the Commission writing last month that the data silo commitment proposed by Google is insufficient to clearly dismiss the serious doubts identified at this stage as to the effects of the transaction.

It remains to be seen what the blocs competition regulators conclude after taking a longer and harder look at the deal and its worth noting they are simultaneously consulting on whether to give themselves new powers to be able to intervene faster to regulate digital markets but Googles hopes of friction-free regulatory clearance and being able to hit the ground running in 2020 with Fitbits data in its pocket have certainly not come to pass.

Original article
Author: Natasha Lomas

TechCrunch is a leading technology media property, dedicated to obsessively profiling startups, reviewing new Internet products, and breaking tech news.

Natasha Lomas has recently written 10 articles on similar topics including :
  1. "Googles appeal against an order by Frances competition watchdog to negotiate with publishers for reuse of snippets of their content has failed". (October 8, 2020)
  2. "A coalition of 135 startups and tech companies with services in verticals including travel, accommodation and jobs have written to the European Commission to urge antitrust action against Google warning that swift enforcement is needed or some of their businesses may not survive". (November 12, 2020)
  3. "A month after Europes top court struck down a flagship data transfer arrangement between the EU and the US as unsafe, European privacy campaign group, noyb, has filed complaints against 101 websites with regional operators which its identified as still sending data to the US via Googl". (August 18, 2020)
  4. "Europe has greenlit Googles $2.1BN acquisition of fitness wearable maker Fitbit, applying a number of conditions intended to shrink competition concerns over letting it gobble a major cache of health and wellness data following months of regulatory scrutiny of the deal". (December 17, 2020)
  5. "Google has offered a second round of concessions to try to persuade European regulators to clear its acquisition of wearables maker Fitbit . The deal has been stalled by concerns over its impact on consumer privacy and competition in the wearables market". (September 29, 2020)
  6. "Google has fired a lobbying pot-shot at a looming change to the law in Australia that will force it to share ad revenue with local media businesses whose content its platforms monetize seeking to mobilize its users against big media". (August 17, 2020)
  7. "The Bundeskartellamt, Germanys very active competition authority, isnt letting the grass grow under new powers it gained this year to tackle Big Tech: The Federal Cartel Office (FCO) has just announced a third proceeding against Google". (June 4, 2021)
  8. "Google has fired a lobbying pot-shot at a looming change to the law in Australia that will force it to share ad revenue with local media businesses whose content its platforms monetize seeking to mobilize its users against big media". (August 17, 2020)
  9. "Google has made its pitch to shape the next decades of digital regulation across the European Union, submitting a 135-page response yesterday to the consultation on the forthcoming Digital Services Act (DSA) which will update the blocs long-standing rules around e-commerce". (September 4, 2020)
  10. "Human rights NGO, Amnesty International, has written to the EUs competition regulator calling for Googles acquisition of wearable maker Fitbit to be blocked unless meaningful safeguards can be baked in". (November 27, 2020)
Posted on  , , ,