Google Tests Blocking Some California News Sites From Search Results Over Proposed Law Requiring Payment for Links

Google removes some California news sites from search results for a small percentage of users as a test in response to proposed law requiring payment to media for links
Bill would require tech giants like Google to pay a percentage of ad revenue to media companies for linking to their content
Bill aims to compensate media for lost ad revenue and prevent further journalism job losses, with over 2,500 newspapers closing since 2005
Google argues it already supports local news and provides traffic worth millions to news sites; critics say it would mainly benefit out-of-state newspaper chains
Similar "link taxes" provoked Meta to block Canadian news content; Google threatens same but risks losing valuable news content itself