14 DAY TRIAL // Google is making new concessions in the Fitbit deal in an attempt to receive the clearance from the European Union, and a new report reveals that a decision is expected to be made by the end of the year.
Google officially announced the acquisition of Fitbit last year, but the European Union is yet to give its OK for the deal because of competition concerns.
According to a report from Reuters citing people close to the matter, a decision from the EU in this case is set to be announced by December 23, but given the search giant has recently agreed with more concessions, there’s a chance the deal would be cleared much sooner.
More specifically, Google says Fitbit data wouldn’t be used for ads in its products, and furthermore, the company will allow Fitbit users to continue to connect to third-party services even after taking over the firm.
“We’re also formalizing our longstanding commitment to supporting other wearable manufacturers on Android and to continue to allow Fitbit users to connect to third party services via APIs (application programming interfaces) if they want to,” a company spokesperson was quoted as saying by the cited source.
Official decision by the end of the year
The original takeover announcement emphasized that Fitbit data wouldn’t be used for Google ads, so the search giant is now giving the EU more information on how the whole thing would be managed.
“Consumer trust is paramount to Fitbit. Strong privacy and security guidelines have been part of Fitbit’s DNA since day one, and this will not change. Fitbit will continue to put users in control of their data and will remain transparent about the data it collects and why. The company never sells personal information, and Fitbit health and wellness data will not be used for Google ads,” the press release read.
The EU is also likely to reach out to potential Google competitors to look into the new concessions made by the search giant before a final decision is made.