The anti-trust division of the European Commission has approved the $2.1 billion acquisition of Fitbit by Alphabet, the parent company of Google, based on various commitments, including a pledge not to use the fitness wearables company’s health and wellness data for targeted search or display advertising for ten years.
The condition only applies to data collected from Fitbit users in the European Economic Area, however. U.S. authorities and others still have to rule on the proposed takeover, and observers feel that they may take their cues from the European Commission’s action. The Commission says it has worked in close cooperation with competition authorities around the world, as well as the European Data Protection Board, in the course of its anti-trust investigation.
Google has proposed a similar undertaking in Australia, but the country’s anti-trust authority expressed doubts that it could be effectively monitored “in such a complex and dynamic industry.” It said that it will continue its investigation, setting a March 25 deadline for a final decision. Observers noted that the Australian government is requesting in parallel that Google and Facebook pay for news sourced from local media.
In its settlement with the European Commission, Google has agreed to keep the European user data collected by Fitbit in a dedicated “data silo,” separate from other data gathered from users of its popular search engine and other services like Google Maps, Google Assistant or YouTube.
On the other hand, European users will be given a choice to grant or deny the use of health data stored in their Google or Fitbit accounts by other Google services.
Furthermore, Google will maintain access to Fitbit user data for other software applications through the Fitbit Web API (Web Application Programming Interface), without charging for access and subject to user consent. The European Commission noted that any restrictions made by Google on competitors in this regard would “come especially at the detriment of start-ups in the nascent European digital healthcare space.”
Google has also agreed to safeguard the interoperability between competing manufacturers of wrist-worn wearables and Google’s own Android operating system for smartphones. In particular, Google will grant access to all future Android functionalities to wearable device developers and OEMs, including the APÏs that are part of Google Mobile Services. It will not impose discriminatory conditions on them for access to the Google Play Store.
Google’s compliance will be monitored by a a yet-to-be-named trustee who will have access to Google’s records, personnel, facilities and technical information, and the European Commission reserving the right to extend the duration of the data segregation requirements for an additional ten-year period, if warranted.
