Brussels approves the purchase of Fitbit by Google
The European Commission has approved this Thursday the purchase by Google of the smartwatch firm Fitbit.
However, the operation is subject to the technology giant fulfilling a series of commitments that it has offered to the community authorities to resolve their doubts about the impact of the acquisition in the block.
In August, Brussels announced that it was opening an in-depth investigation to assess whether the transaction ran the risk of damaging competition in the EU. It mainly focused on collecting data through Fitbit watches and their interoperability with Google’s Android operating system for smartphones.
In its preliminary analysis, the Community Executive determined that the operation would damage competition within the single market in the advertising sectors, access the application programming interface in the digital health market, and in the market of smartwatches.
Margrethe Vestager, the vice-president of the European Commission responsible for the competition, explained that Brussels had given its approval to the purchase. The commitments will determine how Google can use the data obtained for advertising purposes, how interoperability between signature watches will be guaranteed by Android competitors and how users can continue to share data on health and sports if they want to.
These commitments will be in place for ten years
Danish company stressed that it could approve the acquisition of Fitbit by Google. The commitments will ensure that the market for watches and the nascent digital health space will remain open and competitive.
For its part, Google has stressed that the agreement reached with the community authorities will stimulate innovation in portable devices. It will allow the company to design products that help people lead a healthier life. The multinational company spokesman added that the firm had worked constructively with Brussels to resolve their concerns.
This includes the legally binding commitments agreed with the Community Executive. They are based on the guarantees that Google has given from the beginning that it will protect Fitbit users’ privacy and continue to support manufacturers and developers.
The duration of all the commitments that Google has acquired to obtain a ‘green light’ from the Community authorities will be ten years. Brussels could decide to extend an additional ten years corresponding to the advertising market, but always providing an adequate justification.
Google announced its plans to buy Fitbit in November 2019. The company noted that it would use the smartwatch maker to improve its lagging hardware business. The removal of regulatory hurdles to the deal came in a challenging climate. The company faces increasing global scrutiny from big tech companies and potentially restrictive regulation in the EU and other regions.
