Google caves on Fitbit data pledge to get EU approval for takeover

Brussels — Google has offered an improved package of concessions to avoid shutting out rival fitness trackers and apps in a bid to clinch EU approval for its $2.1bn takeover of Fitbit, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

Building on an earlier pledge not to use Fitbit data for Google ads, the company is trying to assure rival trackers and apps that it won’t shut them off from Google services.

The company is “formalising our long-standing commitment to supporting other wearable manufacturers on Android and to continue to allow Fitbit users to connect to third-party services” via apps if they want to, it said.

The new offer hits many of the points brought up by rivals concerned that the deal could create a powerful controller of personal data that could also prevent competing apps and wearable trackers from working with Google’s services. If feedback from rivals and customers is positive, the European Commission could approve the Fitbit deal before a December 23 deadline.

The EU dismissed a pledge made in August to keep Fitbit data separate from Google’s information, saying it didn’t address all its concerns and didn’t include all Fitbit data that could be used for advertising.

Anti-trust agencies are increasingly suspicious of tech giants’ takeovers, aiming to prevent the already powerful firms from conquering innovative new markets where data is often the most prized asset.

The EU opened an in-depth probe into the Fitbit deal in August to check how Google could bolster its “data advantage” in online advertising with information it collects from Fitbit’s wearable trackers.

The EU’s wide focus on online ads clashes with Google’s view that the “deal is about devices, not data” and that it’s adding a service — wearable health devices — an area in which it isn’t active and faces plenty of rivals from Apple, Samsung Electronics, Garmin, and others.

 Google said in the statement, “The wearables space is highly crowded, and we believe the combination of Google and Fitbit’s hardware efforts will increase competition in the sector, benefiting consumers and making the next generation of devices better and more affordable.”

Bloomberg