“The Fitbit deal needs a high, high level of scrutiny, if we’re going to have Google take on again all this personal data,” Mr. Warner told CNBC.
Fitbit said that consumers’ health and wellness data will not be used for Google ads. Additionally, Fitbit users will have the option to review, move or delete their data.
Mr. Warner’s concerns of the deal are based on the history larger tech companies have with managing patient data. He said that “large platform companies have not had a very good record of protecting the data or being transparent with consumers.”
However, Mr. Warner doesn’t think the deal should be blocked. As a so called “tech guy,” he said that although he encourages innovation, he also thinks there needs to be some regulatory rules for giant tech companies.
Google declined to comment to CNBC on Mr. Warner’s comments.
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