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martyb writes:

Google Nuked Tech Support Ads to Kill off Scammers. OK. It Also Blew Away Legit Repair Shops. Not OK:

Collateral damage: Web advert crackdown broke our fix-it businesses, sigh owners

With America's trade watchdog on Tuesday hosting a workshop in Washington DC on restrictions that limit the feasibility of repair devices, hardware rehab forum iFixit has penned an open letter to the FTC to complain about Google's ad policies that hinder the mending of machines.

Last August, the Chocolate Factory announced that because its ad system lacks an easy way to distinguish between legitimate businesses and scammers, it was planning to institute a verification program limiting ads for third-party tech support and repair services to legitimate providers.

In theory, Google's program should cut down on scammers who pay for online ads that promote computer troubleshooting, virus remediation, or other security-related assistance, only to rip off victims or hijack their machines.

And Google's program may well be thwarting these crooks, though at the cost of denying legitimate repair businesses the ability to market themselves to customers.

"By treating all third-party repair as a fraud-prone liability, and directing all interest in device repair to their own Maps and search results, Google is severely handicapping repair businesses, prioritizing purchases over repair and reuse, and deciding which companies customers can turn to when they need to fix electronics," explained Kevin Purdy, a writer for iFixit.

If it's not broke, don't fix it. If it is broke... can't fix it?

Original Submission