\tThe US Department of Justice (DoJ) reportedly won a scuffle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over which would scrutinise Google’s bid to acquire fitness tracker maker Fitbit [1], as concern mounts over the privacy implications of the deal.<\/p>\n
Moves by Google are typically reviewed by the FTC, but the DoJ took the reins because it is already investigating other alleged anti-competitive conduct by the company, The New York Post reported.<\/p>\n
Reuters reported consumer watchdog groups including Public Citizen and Centre for Digital Democracy had urged regulators to block the deal because it would give Google more data on Americans: CCS Insight recently estimated Fitbit’s daily active user numbers [2] at 27 million.<\/p>\n
The deal comes at a time of broad scrutiny [3] of the way technology companies handle sensitive user data.<\/p>\n
If completed, the acquisition will catapult Google to being the fifth-largest wearables vendor, placing it well to compete against Apple, Huawei and Samsung.<\/p>\n
IDC\u2019s recent Q3 wearables figures [4] showed Fitbit shipped 3.5 million units, largely flat year-on-year.<\/p>\n[1] https:\/\/www.mobileworldlive.com\/featured-content\/top-three\/google-boosts-wearables-play-with-2-1b-fitbit-buy\/
\n[2] https:\/\/www.mobileworldlive.com\/devices\/blogs-devices\/blog-survival-of-the-fitbit\/
\n[3] https:\/\/www.mobileworldlive.com\/featured-content\/apps-home-banner\/facebook-under-fire-for-location-tracking\/
\n[4] https:\/\/www.mobileworldlive.com\/devices\/news-devices\/hearables-fuel-wearable-shipment-surge\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The US Department of Justice (DoJ) reportedly won a scuffle with the Federal Trade Commission …<\/p>\n
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