French lawmakers approve $11.2 billion internet tax based on traffic usage, costs $0.65 per gigabyte of content accessed
French lawmakers have approved a new internet tax that will charge content providers €0.55 per gigabyte of data sent to French users, with the measure now included in the country's next budget.
The National Assembly voted 11-10 in favor of the motion on October 30, despite opposition from the government and the finance committee rapporteur. The amendment, introduced by socialist lawmaker Laurent Lhardit, proposes a tax on digital data flows emitted by content providers.
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.
The tax is designed to target companies that generate substantial internet traffic, rather than taxing their advertising revenue, profits, or subscriptions. The explanatory notes specifically mention Google, Meta, Netflix, Amazon, and the content delivery network Akamai as major potential contributors.
With approximately 154 million users in France, the proposal's authors say such a tax could generate around €10 billion ($11.2 billion) in annual revenue for the government. TikTok and other similar platforms could fall under this broader scope depending on how these rules are applied.
The proposal must survive further parliamentary scrutiny before becoming law, marking a significant shift in how digital services are taxed in France.
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