INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Google had sought to address those concerns by offering a court enforceable undertaking.Australia's antitrust regulator on Tuesday rejected
an undertaking by Alphabet Inc-owned Google that sought to address competition concerns over its planned $2.1 billion acquisition of fitness
tracker maker Fitbit.The development comes as Google remains at odds with the Australian government over a number of issues, including
proposed laws that will make Australia the first country in the world to force Google and Facebook to pay for news sourced from local media
outlets.In June, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) voiced concerns over the Fitbit deal, warning Google's
acquisition would give it too much of people's data, potentially hurting competition in health and online advertising markets.Google had
sought to address those concerns by offering a court enforceable undertaking that it would behave in certain ways toward rival wearable
manufacturers, not use health data for advertising and, in some circumstances, allow competing businesses access to health and fitness
data.“While we are aware that the European Commission recently accepted a similar undertaking from Google, we are not satisfied that a
long-term behavioural undertaking of this type in such a complex and dynamic industry could be effectively monitored and enforced in
Australia,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said in a statement.The regulator also noted that several other competition authorities, including the US
Department of Justice, were yet to make a decision on the deal.The ACCC said it would continue its investigation and set a new decision date
of March 25, 2021.The regulator also has inquiries open into advertising technology and mobile app stores, with reports due in January and
March, respectively, focusing on the rapidly growing market power of Internet giants.
