‘Google’s Fitbit deal needs close scrutiny’

Bloomberg

The takeover of fitness tracker Fitbit Inc. by Alphabet Inc.’s Google should get close scrutiny from global regulators because it would allow Google to strengthen its already dominant position in digital markets, privacy and consumer groups said.
A coalition of 20 organisations raised their concerns in a statement sent to antitrust authorities in seven jurisdictions, including the US and the European Union, which is set to rule on the deal later this month or extend its review.
The EU has a July 20 deadline to rule on the $2.1 billion deal, which it can extend by four months if it sees antitrust issues that need more scrutiny. The Justice Department is also investigating, while Australia’s merger authority flagged preliminary concerns last month over Google’s access to health data.
Google said that “this deal is about devices, not data. The wearables space is highly crowded, and we believe the combination of Google and Fitbit’s hardware efforts will raise competition in the sector, benefiting consumers and making the next generation of devices better and more affordable.”
Google’s plan to buy Fitbit sparked antitrust and privacy concerns as soon as it was announced in November, as US lawmakers and consumer groups criticised Google for the deal.
It came in the midst of a separate antitrust investigation by the Justice Department into whether Google illegally monopolised digital advertising markets.
In their statement, the consumer groups warned that Google’s acquisition of Fitbit, which has about 30 million users, could allow it to extend its existing power in digital markets to health care and potentially undermine new competition.
The groups joining the statement include the Omidyar Network, the Open Society European Policy Institute, Privacy International, and the Australian Privacy Foundation. They also sent the statement to regulators in the UK, Canada, Australia, Mexico and Brazil.