Australia's consumer watchdog has delayed its decision to green-light Google's proposed acquisition of exercise wearable giant Fitbit.
Today the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said it would not accept a behavioural undertaking by Google needed to get the acquisition over the line.
Instead, the ACCC will continue its investigation into concerns over competition and will announce its decision on the new date of March 25, 2021.
READ MORE: Fitbit acquisition means Google could track your fitness, sleep: ACCC
The watchdog is concerned that by buying Fitbit, Google will squeeze out other players in the market that use Google's software.
"The ACCC continues to have concerns that Google's acquisition of Fitbit may result in Fitbit's rivals, other than Apple, being squeezed out of the wearables market, as they are reliant on Google's Android system and other Google services to make their devices work effectively," ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.
Mr Sims said the ACCC was concerned that the purchase of Fitbit would turn the market of fitness trackers into a two-horse race between Google and Apple.
READ MORE: ACCC flags concerns over Fitbit's merger with Google
"We are also continuing to investigate the acquisition's potential impact on wearable operating systems," Mr Sims said.
"The acquisition may result in Google becoming the default provider of wearable operating systems for non-Apple devices and give it the ability to be a gatekeeper for wearables data, similar to the position it holds for smartphones which licence the Android operating system.
"Wearable devices such as smart-watches are becoming more important in Australians' online lives, and the user data these devices collect is likely to become increasingly valuable.
"The competition impacts of Google acquiring Fitbit to expand into these important markets needs to be very carefully considered."
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Recently the European Commission accepted Google's undertaking to alleviate competition concerns, but the ACCC said it was not satisfied that the same processes could be monitored in a market the size of Australia.
"We recognise we are a smaller jurisdiction and that a relatively small percentage of Fitbit and Google's business takes place here, however the ACCC must reach its own view in relation to the proposed acquisition given the importance of both companies to commerce in Australia," Mr Sims said.
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