{"id":108483,"date":"2021-01-15T01:00:42","date_gmt":"2021-01-15T01:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=108483"},"modified":"2021-01-15T01:00:42","modified_gmt":"2021-01-15T01:00:42","slug":"google-closes-fitbit-deal-as-u-s-australia-probes-continue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/markets\/google-closes-fitbit-deal-as-u-s-australia-probes-continue\/","title":{"rendered":"Google closes Fitbit deal as U.S., Australia probes continue"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Search and advertising giant Google closed its deal to buy fitness tracking company Fitbit, the companies said on Thursday, even as U.S. and Australian competition regulators said they were continuing probes of the $2.1 billion transaction.<\/p>

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The Justice Department, which sued Alphabet Inc\u2019s Google in October for allegedly violating antitrust law in its search and search advertising businesses, said it \u201chas not reached a final decision about whether to pursue an enforcement action\u201d regarding the Fitbit deal.<\/p>\n

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Chair Rod Sims said \u201cdepending on the results of our investigation, we will consider whether to take legal action on this matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Google said it \u201ccomplied with the DOJ\u2019s (Justice Department\u2019s) extensive review for the past 14 months, and the agreed upon waiting period expired without their objection.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe continue to be in touch with them and we\u2019re committed to answering any additional questions,\u201d the company added.<\/p>\n

Google did not immediately respond to Sims\u2019 statement.<\/p>\n

It is rare for a big deal to close without antitrust approval.<\/p>\n

Google won EU antitrust approval last month for its Fitbit bid after agreeing to restrictions on how it will use customers\u2019 health-related data.<\/p>\n

Australia rejected similar restrictions proposed by Google, expressing concern that the company might block Fitbit rivals from connecting to phones running Google\u2019s Android operating software.<\/p>\n

Fitbit makes a watch-like device to measure physical activity that competes with Apple Watch and others. Google said it was buying the company to compete in this market.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe worked with global regulators on an approach which safeguards consumers\u2019 privacy expectations,\u201d Google said in a blog post, which said Fitbit had 29 million active users.<\/p>\n

\u201c(That includes) a series of binding commitments that confirm Fitbit users\u2019 health and wellness data won\u2019t be used for Google ads and this data will be separated from other Google ads data.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Alphabet is best known for a free service, its search engine, it has many other businesses, including online advertising services, audio device and thermostat maker Nest, video streamer YouTube and self-driving car company Waymo.<\/p>\n

Google\u2019s plan to buy Fitbit raised concerns when it was announced in late 2019 because of its already rich trove of data about people, what they buy, where they travel, and more.<\/p>\n

Fitbit\u2019s fitness trackers and other devices monitor users\u2019 steps and calories burned. They also measure floors climbed, heart rate, and how long and how well people sleep.<\/p>\n

Alphabet shares closed down about 1% on Thursday. The company is expected to retain Fitbit\u2019s 1,800 employees.<\/p>\n

Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Search and advertising giant<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":108482,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23054],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nGoogle closes Fitbit deal as U.S., Australia probes continue - Pre Coin News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/markets\/google-closes-fitbit-deal-as-u-s-australia-probes-continue\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Google closes Fitbit deal as U.S., Australia probes continue - Pre Coin News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Search and advertising giant\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/markets\/google-closes-fitbit-deal-as-u-s-australia-probes-continue\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pre Coin News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-01-15T01:00:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"mediabest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/cnewsfotor28-4.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"mediabest\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/markets\/google-closes-fitbit-deal-as-u-s-australia-probes-continue\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/markets\/google-closes-fitbit-deal-as-u-s-australia-probes-continue\/\",\"name\":\"Google closes Fitbit deal as U.S., Australia probes continue - 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