France Advances Data Traffic Tax Targeting Tech Giants at €0.055 Per Gigabyte
French lawmakers have voted to add a controversial data levy to the national budget that would charge content providers based on gigabytes delivered to users, potentially generating €10 billion annually.
A narrow parliamentary vote on October 30 has moved France closer to implementing a novel tax structure aimed at major internet platforms. The National Assembly approved the measure by a vote of 11-10, advancing an amendment that would impose charges on data transmission rather than corporate profits or advertising income.
Under the proposal introduced by socialist lawmaker Laurent Lhardit, content providers would pay €0.055—approximately $0.06—to the French government for each gigabyte of material delivered to users within the country. Companies explicitly named as targets include Google, Meta, Netflix, Amazon, and the content delivery network Akamai, with TikTok and comparable platforms potentially subject to the rules depending on implementation.
Proponents estimate the levy could generate roughly €10 billion ($11.2 billion) in annual revenue, based on France's population of approximately 154 million users. "This amendment proposes a tax on digital data flows emitted by content providers, to be borne by the providers themselves. Its revenue is estimated at €10 billion," Lhardit stated.
The amendment faces significant hurdles before becoming law. Despite passing the parliamentary vote, it encountered opposition from both the government and the finance committee rapporteur. The proposal must clear additional parliamentary scrutiny before final adoption into France's budget framework.