Twenty advocacy groups from the US, Europe, Latin America and elsewhere signed a statement Wednesday urging regulators to be alert of Google’s $2.1 billion bid for fitness tracker company Fitbit Inc due to privacy and competition concerns.
The 20 organizations argued that the deal would expand the already considerable clout in digital markets of Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google, saying tha acquiring Fitbit would give Google such sensitive data about users as how many steps they take daily, the quality of their sleep and their heart rates.
“Past experience shows that regulators must be very wary of any promises made by merging parties about restricting the use of the acquisition target’s data. Regulators must assume that Google will in practice utilize the entirety of Fitbit’s currently independent unique, highly sensitive data set in combination with its own,” the groups said, Reuters reported.
A Google spokeswoman said the tech wearables space was crowded.
“This deal is about devices, not data,” she said.
“We believe the combination of Google’s and Fitbit’s hardware efforts will increase competition in the sector.”
Google announced the deal in November to take on competitors in the crowded market for fitness trackers and smart watches. Fitbit’s market share has been threatened by deep-pocketed companies like Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS).
