The Justice Department, which sued Alphabet's Google in
October for allegedly violating antitrust law in its search and search
advertising businesses, said it "has not reached a final decision about
whether to pursue an enforcement action" regarding the Fitbit deal.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Chair Rod
Sims said "depending on the results of our investigation, we will consider
whether to take legal action on this matter."
Google said it "complied with the DOJ's (Justice
Department's) extensive review for the past 14 months, and the agreed upon
waiting period expired without their objection."
"We continue to be in touch with them and we're
committed to answering any additional questions," the company added.
Google did not immediately respond to Sims' statement.
It is rare for a big deal to close without antitrust
approval.
Google won EU antitrust approval last month for its Fitbit
bid after agreeing to restrictions on how it will use customers' health-related
data.
Australia rejected similar restrictions proposed by Google,
expressing concern that the company might block Fitbit rivals from connecting
to phones running Google's Android operating software.
Fitbit makes a watch-like device to measure physical
activity that competes with Apple Watch and others. Google said it was buying
the company to compete in this market.
"We worked with global regulators on an approach which
safeguards consumers' privacy expectations," Google said in a blog post,
which said Fitbit had 29 million active users.
"(That includes) a series of binding commitments that
confirm Fitbit users' health and wellness data won't be used for Google ads and
this data will be separated from other Google ads data."
While Alphabet is best known for a free service, its search
engine, it has many other businesses, including online advertising services,
audio device and thermostat maker Nest, video streamer YouTube, and
self-driving car company Waymo.
Google's plan to buy Fitbit raised concerns when it was
announced in late 2019 because of its already rich trove of data about people,
what they buy, where they travel, and more.
Fitbit's fitness trackers and other devices monitor users'
steps and calories burned. They also measure floors climbed, heart rate, and
how long and how well people sleep.
Alphabet shares closed down about 1 percent on Thursday. The
company is expected to retain Fitbit's 1,800 employees.
© Reuters