EFF says it needs your help to make the whole thing happen

May 20, 2020 05:56 GMT  ·  By

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, or EFF, is trying to block Google’s takeover of wearable device giant Fitbit, and in order to make the whole thing happen, it needs the support of customers around the world who previously purchased an activity tracker.

More specifically, EFF says Fitbit owners are the ones who can help with stopping the acquisition, and they are required to share stories by answering a series of questions.

“Did you buy a Fitbit because you didn't want to give Google even more of your data?” the EFF asks. “Does the Google-Fitbit merger make you feel like there's no point in opting out of Google data-collection because they'll just buy any company that has a successful alternative?”

The privacy group explains that very own, tech giants don’t necessarily invest in innovation but prefer to purchase companies that can fuel it.

“Two of Google's signature products—Search and Gmail—are in-house projects, but the vast majority of its other successes came from snapping up other companies,” the EFF says.

And now Google’s trying to do it again with Fitbit, the group continues, “which would see the dominant wearable fitness tracker company disappear into the Googleplex, along with its massive trove of sensitive user data.”

Subject to regulatory approval

Google announced in November 2019 it would buy Fitbit for $2.1 billion, promising to keep customer data untouched, with Fitbit health and wellness data not supposed to be used for Google ads. Your information is secure, the two companies promised, although Google hasn’t shared any specifics on how exactly it plans to integrate Fitbit in its portfolio of products.

The takeover is still subject to regulatory approval, and the Department of Justice is now the one who must give the go-ahead for the deal.

“That's where you come in. We want to ask the Department of Justice to stop this merger, and we want stories from Fitbit owners to help us explain why,” the EFF says.

Full information on how you can get in touch with the privacy experts at EFF are available on the page linked above.