Google Acquires Fitbit
| Google Acquires Fitbit | |
|---|---|
| Short Title | Google Acquires Fitbit And All User Data |
| Location | Global |
| Date | Late 2019 |
| Solove Harm | Surveillance, Aggregation |
| Information | Computer Device, Behavioral, Identifying, Contact, Location, Physical Characteristics, Medical and Health |
| Threat Actors | Google LLC, Fitbit Inc. |
| Individuals | |
| Affected | Users of Fitbit |
| High Risk Groups | |
| Tangible Harms | |
Fitbit was sold to Google with all the health data of the 28 millions of users.
Description
Fitbit Inc. is a brand of wearable technology, popular for devices, that users can wear on their wrists to track their activity. The devices are supposed to help improve one's health and lifestyle. The constant tracking of individuals’ health data and activities can be interpreted as Surveillance.
In late 2019 Google announced the acquisition of Fitbit with all the data for $2.1 billion.
Google is known for already keeping probably the largest trove of information on people, including location data, search history, online behavior history. The company also creates advertisement profiles of users based on information such as location, gender, age, hobbies, career, interests, relationship status, possible physical characteristics, and income. Adding health information on 28 millions of users to this already large amount of data can be seen as Aggregation.
Laws and Regulations
Sources
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2019/11/02/google-to-buy-fitbit-for-21-billion-what-about-privacy-concerns/
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/20/opinion/facial-recognition-ban-privacy.html
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/nov/05/fitbit-google-acquisition-health-data