Seems that Google might have a pretty big backlash in progress over this one. Telling people how they’re going to run their site and control the equity of those sites is unacceptable -

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In an effort to combat spam, Matt Cutts is coming up with more warnings about paid links. I think they’re starting to realize they are fighting a losing battle and they’re trying to do anything they can to control links. Michael Gray seems to think that maybe Google is out of touch with reality. I agree.

Paid advertising should be allowed to exist in any form for any purpose. If a company can afford paid advertising and continue to afford that advertising, they are most likely doing something right. If they are doing something right, shouldn’t a paid link on an authority site count as a vote toward the quality of the site?