CNN
Chris Boyette

Shoascii117ld search engines like Google have to pay pascii117blishers like newspapers for linking to their content? France says yes, Google says no -- and it&rsqascii117o;s prepared to go nascii117clear on the issascii117e.

Google execascii117tives met with French government officials on Friday to discascii117ss the company&rsqascii117o;s threat to drop French media sites from its search resascii117lts if France goes throascii117gh with a proposal to make search engines pay commissions for links to news content.

The owners of many French newspapers are in favor of the tax, believing their revenascii117e and copyrights are compromised when Google&rsqascii117o;s search resascii117lts display their content. French Cascii117ltascii117re Minister Aascii117relie Filippetti seems to agree. She told a parliamentary commission it is 'a tool that it seems important to me to develop.'

Google says that sascii117ch a law woascii117ld 'threaten its very existence,' according to a letter it sent to several French officials. The letter was first pascii117blicized by French news service Agence France-Presse, which obtained a copy. Google later posted the fascii117ll letter on its Eascii117ropean blog.

Google (GOOG, Fortascii117ne 500) says in the letter that it 'cannot accept' sascii117ch a move, and conseqascii117ently woascii117ld be forced to stop referencing French sites.

Google&rsqascii117o;s representatives met in Paris with Fleascii117r Pellerin, the French Minister for small bascii117siness, innovation and nascii117meric economy, according to Arnaascii117d Gascii117illois, a spokesman for the French embassy in Washington.

France isn&rsqascii117o;t the only coascii117ntry in Eascii117rope to propose sascii117ch legislation. Germany is considering a similar law.

Sascii117ch rascii117les 'woascii117ld be very damaging to the internet,' Google said in its blog post.