French Assembly backs data tax on content providers
The amendment to the 2027 budget bill would charge 0.055 euros per gigabyte delivered to French users; the government opposes it.
The French National Assembly adopted an amendment on October 30, 2026, introducing a "digital data generation business tax" into the 2027 budget bill, according to digitaltoday.co.kr. The measure passed by 11 votes in favor, 10 against and 14 abstentions.
The amendment was submitted by Socialist Party lawmaker Laurent Lhardit and other lawmakers. Under the proposal, content providers would be charged 0.055 euros per gigabyte of data delivered to French internet users, with estimated annual revenue of 100 billion euros. Data sent through content delivery networks (CDNs) would also be covered.
The liability falls on companies transmitting the data, not telecom operators. Operators would report senders and traffic volumes to tax authorities quarterly without collecting communication content or recipient information. The tax is capped at 15% of French revenue or 2% of global revenue.
Government and industry objections
The French government opposed the amendment, saying measuring traffic may require separate equipment and that about half the tax burden could fall on domestic small and mid-sized content businesses. VideoLAN, developer of the VLC video player, expressed concern about a burden of more than 1 million euros per year; Lhardit countered that the cap would exclude VideoLAN from taxation.
France's telecom regulator ARCEP estimates annual data traffic at about 200 billion GB, with Google, Meta, Amazon, Netflix and Akamai accounting for roughly half. Britain's telecom regulator Ofcom previously considered making content providers share network costs but did not pursue it for lack of grounds.
Quick answers
How much is the French data tax?
It would charge content providers 0.055 euros per gigabyte of data delivered to French internet users, capped at 15% of French revenue or 2% of global revenue.
Who would pay the tax?
Companies transmitting the data, not telecom operators. Data sent via content delivery networks is also subject to the tax.
Has the tax been enacted?
No. It was adopted as an amendment to the 2027 budget bill, which the French government opposed.