EU COMMISSION LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION INTO THE PROPOSED ACQUISITION OF FITBIT BY GOOGLE

05.08.2020

The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of Fitbit by Google under the EU Merger Regulation.

The Commission is concerned that the proposed transaction would further entrench Google's market position in the online advertising markets by increasing the already vast amount of data that Google could use for personalisation of the ads it serves and displays.

At this stage of the investigation, the Commission considers that Google;

is dominant in the supply of online search advertising services in the EEA countries (with the exception of Portugal for which market shares are not available);
holds a strong market position in the supply of online display advertising services at least in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, in particular in relation to off-social networks display ads ;
holds a strong market position in the supply of ad tech services in the EEA.

Furthermore, the effects of the combination of Fitbit's and Google's databases and capabilities in the digital healthcare sector and the ability of Google to degrade the interoperability of rivals' wearables with Google's Android operating system for smartphones will also be examined by the Commission.

You can read the announcement of the Commission here.

Should you have any queries and/or remarks, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind regards,

Zumbul Attorneys-at-Law

info@zumbul.av.tr