字幕表 動画を再生する 英語字幕をプリント Google is trying to get a foothold in the wearable tech business having made a $2.1bn bid to buy the fitness tracking company Fitbit. For Google this would be its biggest acquisition since its 2014 purchase of Nest and would also give it a product to rival Apple's watch. Now, Fitbit shareholders must decide whether to accept the deal, which places a 19 per cent premium on the company based on where its shares were trading before the deal was announced. But Fitbit shareholders are unlikely to be the major hurdle here. Even if they do accept the deal it is likely to spark the interest of regulators here in Washington. Already, David Cicilline, the chair of the House antitrust committee, has said he wants an immediate and thorough investigation. Now, we've seen several advocacy groups, including the Electronic Privacy Information Centre and the Open Markets Institute, also weigh in. I wouldn't be surprised if Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic presidential candidate who has called to break up big tech, also gets involved soon. In this environment where several agencies are already investigating the market power held by large technology companies, I wouldn't be surprised if the Federal Trade Commission or the Department of Justice looks very carefully at this deal before deciding whether it should go through. But from conversations I've had with staffers in both agencies, they are loath to be seen to be acting purely out of political pressure. It will be fascinating to see which way they jump on this one. Now, this week's question comes from Souvik Deb. Souvik responded to my last vlog about the drone maker DJI by asking: "Although understandable, is it reasonable and even possible for the US to scrutinise each and every Chinese company doing their business in the US? And what will be the political ramifications since the Chinese can do the same with US companies based in China?" Well, Souvik, is it possible? No. But what US officials are doing are focusing on two main areas, firstly where Chinese companies doing business in the US have a lot of data on US citizens, and secondly where those Chinese companies have some kind of a lead over their US rivals. Huawei was the classic example of both of those categories. And now we're seeing similar warnings being made about TikTok, the viral video sharing platform owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. And what will be the political ramifications? Well, Beijing has announced a tech blacklist where it says it is willing to put US tech companies who fall foul of their rules, pretty much in retaliation to what the US has done. But so far, their action has been relatively restrained, and that is because, I believe, Beijing thinks and hopes that a lot of this can be resolved in some eventual trade deal. We'll have to watch whether that happens. Thanks very much for the comment. And if you have a question which you want me to answer in next week's vlog, please leave it in the comments below.
B1 中級 GoogleのFitbitへの入札が失敗する可能性がある理由|Tech Wash (Why Google’s bid for Fitbit could fail | Tech Wash) 20 1 林宜悉 に公開 2021 年 01 月 14 日 シェア シェア 保存 報告 動画の中の単語