Democratic senators call for ‘thorough and comprehensive’ review of Google’s Fitbit acquisition

A group of Democratic senators urged the Department of Justice Thursday to conduct a “thorough and comprehensive” review of Google’s proposed acquisition of Fitbit.

Google’s purchase of the fitness tracking company immediately came under antitrust scrutiny when announced in November.

The Justice Department launched an investigation at the time and has issued a second request for information on the merger.

A letter, led by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), urges the agency to continue its efforts, warning that allowing Google free range on acquisitions may give it enduring dominance across several markets.

“Over the years, Google has completed more than 100 strategic acquisitions—including purchases of DoubleClick, AdMob, YouTube, Waze, and many other firms—virtually all without significant enforcement action by federal antitrust enforcers,” the senators wrote to Attorney General William Barr.

“We are deeply troubled by the possibility that past reluctance to address potential threats to competition in their incipiency though aggressive merger enforcement may have contributed to current concerns about potential anticompetitive conduct by Google in these markets, resulting in the antitrust scrutiny that the company is attracting from federal, state, and international enforcers today.”

Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) also signed the letter.

The letter encouraging a close review of the merger comes as the deal is receiving increasing scrutiny from antitrust regulators elsewhere.

European Union regulators have reportedly reached out Google and Fitbit’s rivals for info on how the merger might affect the digital healthcare market.

Australia’s Competition and Consumer Commission also raised concerns about the deal last month.