Why trust Greenbot
Waze is a company that allows people who drive to relay information to each other about traffic jams, construction related detours, cops, you get the idea. It’s like a social network for car owners. There was a rumor going around saying Facebook wanted to buy them, but Google didn’t want Facebook to own it, so they outbid Zuckerberg. The deal ($1.3 billion) was formally announced earlier this month.
According to The Guardian, Google has confirmed that the deal is now being investigated by the United States Federal Trade Commission. The FTC says Google is way too powerful with regards to mapping, and that the Waze acquisition might negatively impact the competitive dynamic of the maps market.
What’s the worst case scenario? The FTC says no, Google can’t buy Waze, and then Waze will go back to thinking about what it should do. Returning to those rumors I mentioned earlier, one of the biggest reasons Waze didn’t want to shake hands with Facebook was because Facebook wanted Waze to move to America. Waze wanted to stay in Israel instead.
I’ll keep my eye on this story.
