Google said Friday it will stop linking to New Zealand news content and will reverse its support of local media outlets if the government passes a law forcing tech companies to pay for articles displayed on their platforms.

Google Friday told New Zealand unless it can keep using news content without paying for it, Google will stop linking to all New Zealand news sites. Google's threat is against the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill.

Google threatened to stop linking to news in New Zealand if lawmakers pass a bill aimed at making digital platforms pay media outlets.

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Google said on Friday it will stop linking to New Zealand news articles and ditch the agreements it has with local news organisations, if the country’s government goes ahead with a law to force tech giants to pay a fair price for content that appears on their feeds.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Google said Friday it will stop linking to New Zealand news content and will reverse its support of local media outlets if the government passes a law forcing tech companies to pay for articles displayed on their platforms.

The ACT Party opposes the legislation, with leader David Seymour criticizing the government for "playing chicken" with Google. He warned that smaller media outlets could suffer if the tech giant follows through on its threats, losing visibility in search results.

Google's New Zealand division, in an update addressing the country's Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill, said it would be forced to stop linking to news content on Google Search, Google News, or Discover surfaces in the country.

Google said on Friday that it will stop linking to New Zealand news articles and ditch the agreements it has made with local news organizations if the country passes the Fair Digital News Bargaining

This follows a surprise announcement by New Zealand’s government in July that lawmakers would advance a bill forcing tech platforms to strike deals for sharing revenue generated from news content with

Google said on Friday to it will stop linking to New Zealand news if a law requiring tech companies to pay for content is passed.

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