Re:EU launches probe into Google-Fitbit takeover
by nradov on Tuesday August 04, 2020 @10:02AM
(#24050027)
Competitors such as Apple, Samsung, Garmin, Coros, and Suunto are doing fine with wearable fitness tracker devices. Fitbit was on a path to failure when Google bought them. The industry was due for a shakeout and consolidation as the technology matured.
Re:EU launches probe into Google-Fitbit takeover
by liaukovv on Tuesday August 04, 2020 @10:39AM
(#24050440)
The concern is not with google dominating wearable market, but rather google solidifying it's stranglehold on ad market with more data.
Re:EU launches probe into Google-Fitbit takeover
by three_seagrass on Tuesday August 04, 2020 @01:27PM
(#24052332)
Google holds ~55% share of the online ad market, and it's dropping an Amazon ramps up. Far from a "stranglehold".
Re:EU launches probe into Google-Fitbit takeover
by liaukovv on Tuesday August 04, 2020 @03:05PM
(#24053376)
But is dynamic of google buying up products and making them free or cheaper by subsidizing from search ads(with the goal of making search ads more profitable with additional data from free product) healthy for the market?
Re:EU launches probe into Google-Fitbit takeover
by three_seagrass on Tuesday August 04, 2020 @06:57PM
(#24055399)
This acq focus is on devices, not ads.
Google already pledged not to use user health data for ads:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-fitbit-m-a-alphabet-eu-ex...
Re:EU launches probe into Google-Fitbit takeover
by WorldMaker on Tuesday August 04, 2020 @03:56PM
(#24053866)
Especially when it is personal health data now at risk of being used to subsidize ads?
Advertising is already creepy enough trying to determine when, for instance, someone is pregnant via related purchases (and sometimes guessing correctly ahead of the person's own knowledge, per famous anecdata), just imagine how much more creepy it can get when it is data being sold to advertisers from your own wrist?
What it’s saying is that Google would desperately love to use the US‘ anti-trust standard of concentrated market power being a-OK as long as consumers aren’t obviously being hurt right that second rather than the (better) European standard of considering the prospects of competitors and potential competitors as well.