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Google's Fitbit Deal Reportedly to Be Scrutinized By DOJ Antitrust Office

Normally, deals of this size have to be approved by either the DOJ or the Federal Trade Commission, which also has federal antitrust authority.

But according to the Post, a source said the DOJ and the FTC engaged in an arm wrestle over who would handle this one, as the the Department of Justice Antitrust Division has already launched a competition probe into Google What ultimately ends up happening with the Fitbit acquisition could be an early sign of where the larger federal investigation ofGoogle is heading.

The deal could give Google a much-needed boost in the wearables market, which is currently dominated by competitors like Apple and Samsung. Thats made privacy advocates wary that the acquisition could give it access to a wealth of health data on Fitbits users, promises by the company that it would never sell Fitbit data notwithstanding.

Per Wired, Google not only pursued the Fitbit deal while it was facing multiple antitrust inquiries, but announced it mere days before it came to light that Google had partnered with health systems company Ascension on Project Nightingale. That endeavor allowed Google to access significant, non-anonymized health data on what is likely tens of millions of Ascension patients including names, diagnoses, lab results, birth dates, and more, all without notifying the patients or doctors involved.

Project Nightingale triggered a federal inquiry into whether it violated the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act .

Theyre going to scrutinize their data-driven acquisition of these smaller firms. Here you have this established firm thats already established a significant treasure trove of personal data.

Through its vast portfolio of internet services, Google knows more about us than any other company, and it should not be allowed to add yet another way to track our every move.

Original article
Author: Gizmodo

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