Fitness Tracking Startups Are Sweating Due to EU Privacy Regulators
Privacy regulators worry companies could abuse access to data
People work out while using Fitbit devices.
Photographer: Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images
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Startups hoping to sell health tracking devices and software to corporate customers are worried European regulators will torpedo their business model.
Employers should be banned from issuing workers with wearable fitness monitors, such as Fitbit, or other health tracking devices, even with the employees’ permission, a European Union advisory panel said in June. Employers should also be barred from accessing data from their devices their employees wear, even if it is only aggregate data for the entire workforce or anonymous data, the EU body said.