According to the information shared by the German lawmakers on Friday, the so-called `Google Tax' - a proposed legislation which will potentially impose copyright restrictions on Internet search engines - has been debated on, and has been sent for further review to an expert committee.

As per the lawmakers, the German Parliament passed on the `Google Tax' issue to its legal committee, after debating on the proposed legislation. However, the lawmakers refrained from divulging when the committee is likely to issue recommendations on the matter.

With the proposed law - which is being fervently backed by publishers - chiefly requiring the Web search engines to make payments to the publishers whenever media content, like newspaper articles or photographs, are linked with the search results, Google has been opposing the move because it would effectively extend copyright.

To gain support for defeating the levy proposal - the Leistungsschutzrecht für Presseverleger, or "ancillary copyright for press publishers" -, the Internet search giant also launched a `Defend Your Web' campaign earlier this week.

Putting forth the argument that the proposed legislation will make it extremely difficult for Internet surfers to find what they are looking for, Google country director Stefan Tweraser said: "Such a law would affect every Internet user in Germany and mean less information for consumers and higher costs for companies."