[ad_1]
Google says it has completed its $ 2.1 billion acquisition of Fitbit Inc., a deal that would see the search giant penetrate deeper into the wearable device and health data business, as it continues. to be subject to an antitrust review.
The deal’s announcement came after European Union competition officials last month approved the acquisition with terms designed to protect users’ health data and keep competition in the market. the wearable technology sector, removing one of the obstacles of the deal. But other antitrust agencies continue to monitor the transaction, including in the United States, which means Google’s decision to go ahead is not without regulatory risk.
“This deal has always been about devices, not data, and we’ve been clear from the start that we’ll protect the privacy of Fitbit users,” said Rick Osterloh, Google senior vice president for devices and Services.
To appease EU regulators, Google has pledged not to use Fitbit data for advertising purposes in Europe and to store this data separately from any other Google data used in advertisements.
It also told regulators it would allow users to link their Fitbit data to competing apps and pledged to allow wearable device makers to freely access functions of Google’s Android operating system.
Source link
