For several months now, Google has been blocking advertisements from independent repairers, as opposed to those from manufacturers and their authorised repairers. In June, Runder Tisch Reparatur, supported by 17 other organisations and over 700 repair shops, turned to the EU Commission’s Competition Directorate in order to draw attention to Google’s behaviour.
The EU’s chief competition watchdog, Marghrete Vestager, is now investigating the incident, as part of the ongoing investigation on the US corporation’s anti-competitive behaviour, as Vestager indicates in her response to Runder Tisch Reparatur and the undersigned organizations. EU Commission officials also raised the issue with representatives of Google, who showed themselves to be ready to talk.as part of the ongoing investigation on the US corporation’s anti-competitive behaviour
What’s next? Runder Tisch Reparatur gratefully accepts the offer and will gladly discuss Google’s anti-competitive behaviour and its consequences for independent repair shops with Google and the EU Commission.
Stay tuned for updates!
When this first happened, I noticed it immediately in the morning when I checked my ads manager.
This has been ridiculous to say the least. It has damaged, or even put people out of business. After spending my entire life learning the skills I have, Google can damage my ability to find new clients.
Overnight, everything changed. It got tougher, but I pulled through. I made it through 2021, and we have already expanded and our growth continues today.
We really had to buckle down on some social media sites, and more word of mouth and business card distribution.
I really hope this changes though. I would love to put some new ads up 🙁
Devin M.
A humble computer technician