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It’s actually fairly straightforward for this kind of thing. What it’s saying is that Google would desperately love to use the US‘ anti-trust standard of conce

It’s actually fairly straightforward for this kind of thing. What it’s saying is that Google would desperately love to use the US‘ anti-trust standard of concentrated market power being a-OK as long as consumers aren’t obviously being hurt right that second rather than the (better) European standard of considering the prospects of competitors and potential competitors as well.

nradov 6y ago
Competitors such as Apple, Samsung, Garmin, Coros, and Suunto are doing fine with wearable fitness tracker devices. Fitbit was on a path to failure when Google bought them. The industry was due for a shakeout and consolidation as the technology matured.
- liaukovv 6y ago
  The concern is not with google dominating wearable market, but rather google solidifying it's stranglehold on ad market with more data.
  - three_seagrass 6y ago
    Google holds ~55% share of the online ad market, and it's dropping an Amazon ramps up. Far from a "stranglehold".
    - liaukovv 6y ago
      But is dynamic of google buying up products and making them free or cheaper by subsidizing from search ads(with the goal of making search ads more profitable with additional data from free product) healthy for the market?
      - WorldMaker 6y ago
        Especially when it is personal health data now at risk of being used to subsidize ads? Advertising is already creepy enough trying to determine when, for instance, someone is pregnant via related purchases (and sometimes guessing correctly ahead of the person's own knowledge, per famous anecdata), just imagine how much more creepy it can get when it is data being sold to advertisers from your own wrist?
        deleted 6y ago
        [deleted]
      - three_seagrass 6y ago
        This acq focus is on devices, not ads. Google already pledged not to use user health data for ads: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-fitbit-m-a-alphabet-eu-exclusive/exclusive-google-offers-data-pledge-in-bid-to-win-eu-okay-for-fitbit-buy-idUSKCN24E2X5 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-fitbit-m-a-alphabet-eu-ex...

nradov 6y ago

Competitors such as Apple, Samsung, Garmin, Coros, and Suunto are doing fine with wearable fitness tracker devices. Fitbit was on a path to failure when Google bought them. The industry was due for a shakeout and consolidation as the technology matured.

liaukovv 6y ago
The concern is not with google dominating wearable market, but rather google solidifying it's stranglehold on ad market with more data.
- three_seagrass 6y ago
  Google holds ~55% share of the online ad market, and it's dropping an Amazon ramps up. Far from a "stranglehold".
  - liaukovv 6y ago
    But is dynamic of google buying up products and making them free or cheaper by subsidizing from search ads(with the goal of making search ads more profitable with additional data from free product) healthy for the market?
    - WorldMaker 6y ago
      Especially when it is personal health data now at risk of being used to subsidize ads? Advertising is already creepy enough trying to determine when, for instance, someone is pregnant via related purchases (and sometimes guessing correctly ahead of the person's own knowledge, per famous anecdata), just imagine how much more creepy it can get when it is data being sold to advertisers from your own wrist?
      - deleted 6y ago
        [deleted]
    - three_seagrass 6y ago
      This acq focus is on devices, not ads. Google already pledged not to use user health data for ads: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-fitbit-m-a-alphabet-eu-exclusive/exclusive-google-offers-data-pledge-in-bid-to-win-eu-okay-for-fitbit-buy-idUSKCN24E2X5 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-fitbit-m-a-alphabet-eu-ex...