Deutsche Telekom and SAP developed the interoperability gateway service that allows for “a safe exchange of information between the backends of national contact tracing and warning apps,” according to the EC. The system will be run from the EC’s data centre in Luxembourg. If all goes well during the trial period, the gateway should go live in October.

No personal data will be shared between the countries through this system. Other EU countries will be able to join the network later if their contact tracing apps use a decentralized system like the one developed by Apple and Google. That probably rules out France, which is storing its data centrally.

“Many member states have implemented national contact tracing and warning applications. It is now time to make them interact with each other,” Thierry Breton, the EC’s commissioner for the single market, said in a statement. “Travel and personal exchange are the core of the European project and the single market. The gateway will facilitate this in these times of pandemic and will save lives.”

Google has long said it would not use Fitbit data for targeted ads and that the deal “was about devices, not data.” It pledged to silo Fitbit’s health data to keep it separate from its ad business, and it affirmed that plan to EU regulators last month in an attempt to stave off an antitrust review.

However, the European Commission was unconvinced. It said Google’s proposal to silo Fitbit data was “insufficient to clearly dismiss the serious doubts identified at this stage as to the effects of the transaction.” Among other reasons, “this is because the data silo remedy did not cover all the data that Google would access as a result of the transaction and would be valuable for advertising purposes.”

The EC said that at this stage of its review, the data collected from wrist-worn wearables appears to offer “an important advantage” for digital advertising. “By increasing the data advantage of Google in the personalization of the ads it serves via its search engine and displays on other internet pages, it would be more difficult for rivals to match Google’s online advertising services,” it said.

Beyond the potential use of Fitbit data for ads, the investigation will look into the possible impact of the deal on the “nascent” digital healthcare market in Europe. The EC will also look into “whether Google would have the ability and incentive” to downgrade how rival wearable devices interact with Android if and when the Fitbit deal closes. Following the formal announcement of the investigation, EC antitrust regulators have 90 days to make a decision about the proposed acquisition.

Soon after Google announced the deal, reports emerged that US antitrust officials were also concerned about the takeover for similar reasons. The company is currently a subject of a much broader review of competition in big tech in the country — CEO Sundar Pichai faced a congressional antitrust hearing last week.

The body told Reuters it started preliminary investigations into how both companies handle data. “These investigations concern the way data is gathered, processed, used and monetized including for advertising purposes,” the EU’s competition watchdog said.

Regulators are hoping to determine whether Facebook places restrictions on data use by third-party companies in exchange for access to APIs for its core platform and Instagram. They’re attempting to find out if Facebook hampers access to data and if so, why. Engadget has contacted the company for comment.

EU officials are said to be concerned over the vast troves of data major tech companies store and whether they use such information to hamper competitors. Last month, it emerged EU regulators are looking into Facebook’s Marketplace service related to how the classified ads market has changed over the last few years and the commercial links between the company and its rivals.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruling emerged after a German consumer group sued a company called Fashion ID. The group claimed the retailer breached rules regarding personal data protection through the use of the Like button. A German court requested guidance from the CJEU.

“The consequence of embedding that button appears to be that when a visitor consults the website of Fashion ID, that visitor’s personal data are transmitted to Facebook Ireland,” the CJEU said. “It seems that that transmission occurs without that visitor being aware of it and regardless of whether or not he or she is a member of the social network Facebook or has clicked on the ‘Like’ button.”

The sites share liability with Facebook for data captured and transmitted this way. However, they’re not responsible for what Facebook then does with the data.

As a result of the ruling, Facebook might have to tweak how the Like button works. You might start to see more sites ask for explicit permission to transmit your data via the Like button, in a similar way to how they ask you to confirm your cookie preferences now.

“We are carefully reviewing the court’s decision and will work closely with our partners to ensure they can continue to benefit from our social plugins and other business tools in full compliance with the law,” Facebook’s associate general counsel Jack Gilbert told Reuters.