The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) may take legal action against Google after the tech giant completed its acquisition of Fitbit during the watchdog’s investigation of the deal.
Last week, Google announced that the acquisition of the fitness tracking brand was complete despite ongoing investigations by competition watchdogs around the world, including the ACCC and the US Department of Justice (DOJ).
The ACCC was looking into concerns that the purchase would reduce competition from smaller players in the market. The watchdog also had concerns around how Google would use the device, which has about 29 million active users globally, to harvest more user data for advertising.
As a result of Google completing its acquisition of Fitbit before the ACCC completed its merger review, the watchdog says it is now conducting an “enforcement investigation”.
“As a result, and depending on the results of our investigation, we will consider whether to take legal action on this matter,” ACCC chair Rod Sims says.
“The market for wearable devices like those made and sold by Fitbit is rapidly evolving.
“We are concerned that Google’s acquisition of Fitbit, an innovative company with its own wearables operating system and high standards for privacy protection, could prevent or hinder future competition.”
In December last year the Australian watchdog rejected a pledge from Google which aimed to ease competition concerns. Instead, the ACCC had set a decision date of its review for March 25 this year.
The ACCC says it will continue to work closely with overseas agencies such as the US DOJ.
Last month, the European Commission gave Google condition approval of its acquisition.
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