Google Jumps Gun over Fitbit as WhatsApp Stumbles

Google has taken the unusual step of pronouncing its $2.1bn acquisition of wearable tech firm Fitbit a done deal, while regulatory investigations including that of the U.S. Department of Justice are still ongoing. Meanwhile Facebook's WhatsApp is mired in controversy over user data.


Regulators in the European Union, often regarded as having the toughest stance on privacy of the major economic blocks, cleared the Fitbit deal in December after imposing conditions regarding the tech giant's use of personal health data. However the Australian regulator's probe is still in progress, and a statement from the US Justice Department in the past week clarified that it 'has not reached a final decision about whether to pursue an enforcement action'. The Department said its Antitrust Division 'remains committed to conducting this review as thoroughly, efficiently, and expeditiously as possible'.

Google's statement announcing the deal focused firmly on the hardware it is acquiring, which analysts say will help it compete with Apple's Watch. Google SVP of Devices and Services Rick Osterloh said the firm had 'been clear since the beginning that we will protect Fitbit users' privacy'. He added: 'We worked with global regulators on an approach which safeguards consumers' privacy expectations, including a series of binding commitments that confirm Fitbit users' health and wellness data won't be used for Google ads and this data will be separated from other Google ads data'. Fitbit co-founder and CEO James Park affirmed: 'The trust of our users will continue to be paramount, and we will maintain strong data privacy and security protections, giving you control of your data and staying transparent about what we collect and why'.

The EU deal cites commitments which 'will determine how Google can use the data collected for ad purposes, how interoperability between competing wearables and Android will be safeguarded and how users can continue to share health and fitness data, if they choose to'. Included in this, Google agreed to not use Fitbit data for ads for 10 years, with the EU reserving the right to extend this for a further decade if it chooses.

The buy was first announced in November 2019, and within two weeks US privacy groups had written to the FTC warning that it would lead to 'a dramatic erosion of consumer privacy'. Google also paid around $40m for Timex's smartwatch technology, just over a year ago.

Web site: www.fitbit.com .


The news comes as messaging leader WhatsApp has stirred controversy by announcing that users will be compelled to agree to new terms which including sharing location and other data with its parent company Facebook. Users in the EU and UK appear to be specifically exempted from this requirement, but already the company is backpedalling over the announcement and has delayed the change even outside Europe by three months. The firms had promised when WhatsApp was acquired for $19bn in 2014 that its famous devotion to user privacy would be maintained, and Facebook even told the EU that it would be 'unable to establish reliable automated matching between user accounts of the two services', a misleading assertion for which it was later fined by the EU.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.