EU Extends Google Fitbit Antitrust Decision Deadline to December 23
European regulators extend their antitrust review of Google's $2.1 billion Fitbit acquisition, pushing the final decision deadline to December 23. The probe focuses on concerns over user health data privacy and potential consolidation of Google's online advertising dominance.
European antitrust regulators extend their review deadline for Google’s planned $2.1 billion acquisition of Fitbit to December 23. The European Commission pushes back the provisional date by two weeks in agreement with the involved parties, though it does not provide specific details explaining the reason for the delay.
The ongoing in-depth probe centers on major concerns regarding the massive cache of sensitive health data that Fitbit holds on over 28 million users. Regulators worry that assimilating this data allows Google to further entrench its dominance in the online advertising market and potentially distort competition in the emerging digital healthcare sector.
Google attempts to ease these regulatory fears by promising not to use Fitbit health data for ad targeting and proposing a "data silo" to keep the information separate. However, the Commission expresses clear scepticism about these measures, stating that Google's proposed commitment remains insufficient to dismiss the serious doubts surrounding the transaction's competitive impact.