A $2.1 billion move by Google to acquire fitness tracker company Fitbit could clear a key hurdle next month, as the European Commission (EC) set a provisional deadline to rule on the deal.
In a filing, the EC specified 20 July as the earliest it may issue a decision on the deal, after Google reportedly submitted it for approval yesterday (15 June).
Potential options open to the EC include clearing the deal unconditionally, setting some conditions or opening a full-blown investigation, The Globe and Mail reported.
In February, the European Data Protection Board raised concerns [1] over a “high level of risk to privacy and data protection” from the deal. Google also faces scrutiny in its home market [2] from the US Department of Justice.
Googled announced the move for Fitbit [3] in November 2019, as part of a strategy to boost its position in the wearables sector and build on a $40 million acquisition [4] of smartwatch technology from Fossil.
If the Fitbit acquisition goes ahead, Google would gain access to the health data of around 28 million users: it previously pledged to offer options to review and delete this information.
[1] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/devices/news-devices/europe-raises-privacy-concerns-over-google-fitbit-deal/
[2] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/devices/news-devices/doj-to-rule-on-google-move-for-fitbit/
[3] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/top-three/google-boosts-wearables-play-with-2-1b-fitbit-buy/
[4] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/devices/news-devices/google-sinks-40m-into-fossil-smartwatch-tech/
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