It's like a person saying:

"I'm happy that the IRS has selected me for audit. I am eager to assist them in their efforts to evaluate whether I have committed a wrongdoing. I love spending money on lawyers."

I think it's more just of an acknowledgment.

I don't know what folks want in a news bit about this 'OH WOE IS ME?!?!'

Don't waste too much time expecting consistency or even coherence on this thread. HN collectively loses 30 IQ points when commenting on any post about Google.

Normally I'm hesitant to agree with such glib / all encompassing statements but I fear that I sort of agree with your assessment.

Parsing word by word generic corporate statements seems pretty silly at this point.

Yea, I may complain about HN's commentariat here and there, but it really is one of the higher-quality fora out there.

But for some reason, it's especially susceptible to specific triggering topics that cause complete forfeiture of critical thinking ability and intellectual honesty among a big chunk of the commenters (and voters).

There are plenty of valid criticisms of Google, but criticism is worthless if it isn't based in at least an attempt at intellectual honesty.

It is the "we appreciate" part that is disingenuous. The honest answer would be more along the lines of "We have done nothing wrong and are confident that any investigation with exonerate us of wrongdoing." That's the sort of thing a defendant's lawyer says on the courthouse steps.

That's communicating something different from what they intend. Your statement implies a default position of combativeness, while theirs states that they're open to some degree of regulation:

> on an approach that addresses consumers' expectations of their wearable devices

Seems kinda absurd to worry about what is a copy and paste acknowledgement that isn't going to give up any details on their approach anyhow....

I agree, it's very much a work that is done together. If EU considers the deal hurt competition, then Google might still be able to buy Fitbit if they take measures that ensure competition is still healthy, so very good if one admits to that and are eager to find a way forward rather than the classic Uber-response "Everyone but us are stupid, it's our way or the highway"