French lawmakers back a per-gigabyte tax on internet traffic

France's National Assembly voted 11 to 10 on Oct 30 to adopt an amendment that would charge content providers 0.055 euros per gigabyte sent to French users. Its backers estimate it would raise 10 billion euros a year.

Proposed levy

0.055 euros per gigabyte

Companies such as Google, Meta, Netflix, Amazon and the network operator Akamai would pay, with a cap of 15 per cent of their French revenue or 2 per cent of worldwide revenue.

The government and the finance committee's rapporteur opposed it, and minister David Amiel asked how traffic could be measured without complicated monitoring. VideoLAN, the nonprofit behind the VLC media player, warned it could owe more than 1 million euros a year.

What's next

It is not law yet: the amendment must clear the rest of France's 2027 budget process, and parliament votes on the budget's first section in early November.