Google won EU antitrust approval on Thursday, December 17, for its US$2.1 billion bid for Fitbit after agreeing restrictions on how it will use customers’ health related data, reported Reuters.
The deal had triggered criticism from privacy advocates on both sides of the Atlantic, consumer organizations, and Google rivals about the company’s market power and the use of people’s health data in targeted advertising.
Fitbit, once the leader in the wearable devices market, has lost market share to Apple, Xiaomi, Samsung and Huawei in recent years.
The European Commission announced it had agreed upon concessions with Google, valid for 10 years with the possibility of another 10-year extension, addressing competition concerns, confirming a Reuters story in October.
Google will store Fitbit user data separately from Google data used for advertising, and will not use data from Fitbit and other wearable devices for Google Ads. Users can decide whether to store their health data in their Google or Fitbit account.
