US raises scrutiny of Google's $ 2.1 billion proposal to buy Fitbit

The United States Department of Justice will increase Google's proposed $ 2.1 billion scrutiny to buy Fitbit. At issue is how companies use the collected personal data. The official purchase would give Google access to the user database of 28 million Fitbit users. Although the tech giant claims to only use them for legitimate purposes, many questions still intrigue the US Department of Justice.

The New York Post advances that it is possible that, if the agreement is approved, Google will have to make certain commitments regarding the way it collects and uses user information. The results of Fitbit's proposed purchase scrutiny could have an impact on the current US Supreme Court antitrust investigation Google.

In February, the European Data Protection Committee considered that Google's $ 2.1 billion acquisition of Fitbit could pose serious risks to users' privacy in Europe.

The organization stressed that the collection and processing of data by a large technological company like Google is incompatible with the "fundamental right to privacy". The Committee alerted Google and Fitbit to their obligations in European territory, recalling the need to follow the rules of the General Data Protection Regulation and to notify the European Commission of their intentions.

In response to the position of the European Committee for Data Protection, Google stated that the purpose of the acquisition of Fitbit is only to assist it in the wearable development process. Protection of user information is essential to what we do, a spokeswoman said in an international press release, adding that the company would continue to work with regulators to ensure that all of its issues are clarified.