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France’s National Assembly voted 11-10 on October 30 to add a proposed tax on digital content flows to the country’s next budget. The measure would charge providers €0.55 per gigabyte delivered to French users, and its sponsor estimates it could raise €10 billion annually; it still needs to pass further parliamentary scrutiny.
France’s National Assembly voted 11-10 on October 30 to add a proposed tax on digital content flows to the country’s next budget, putting major online platforms and content providers in scope if the measure becomes law. The amendment would charge providers €0.55 per gigabyte of content delivered to French users, but it has not yet cleared further parliamentary scrutiny.
The amendment was introduced by Socialist lawmaker Laurent Lhardit. Under its terms, the levy would apply to data flows emitted by content providers and delivered to users in France, rather than directly taxing companies’ advertising revenue, profits or subscriptions. The proposal’s explanatory notes name Google, Meta, Netflix, Amazon and Akamai as potential contributors. TikTok and other services could also be affected, depending on how the rules are ultimately written and applied.
Lhardit’s proposal sets a rate of €0.55 per gigabyte, roughly $0.62. He estimated the tax could produce about €10 billion, or $11.2 billion, in annual revenue. That figure is the amendment sponsor’s estimate, not a confirmed forecast of collections. The proposal’s authors cite a French user base of approximately 154 million, but the material does not explain how that figure relates to the number of people who would be taxed or how the expected revenue was calculated.
Minutes released by the National Assembly record the narrow vote in favor of the motion. The measure was added to the next budget despite opposition from members of the government side and the finance committee’s rapporteur. The vote advances the proposal within the budget process, but it does not mean the tax is already in force or that named companies have been assigned bills.
France · Budget amendment · October 30
A Proposed Tax on Digital Traffic
France’s National Assembly voted 11–10 to add a per-gigabyte levy on content delivered to French users to the next budget. The proposal advances for further review; it is not yet law.
01 / What the amendment proposes
A levy linked to delivered data
The proposed tax is based on the volume of content delivered, rather than providers’ profits, advertising sales, or subscriptions.
Gigabytes delivered
The amendment proposes €0.55 for each gigabyte of content delivered to users in France. The final method for counting traffic is not specified.
Content providers
Explanatory notes name Google, Meta, Netflix, Amazon, and Akamai as possible contributors. Mentions do not confirm liability under any final law.
€10 billion a year
The estimate comes from the amendment’s sponsor. No calculation method or independent collection forecast is provided in the reported details.
02 / Where it stands
A narrow vote begins the next stage
The National Assembly vote added the measure to the budget process. Further parliamentary scrutiny remains ahead.
Amendment introduced
Socialist lawmaker Laurent Lhardit proposed the traffic-based levy.
Assembly votes
On October 30, the motion passed by 11 votes to 10.
Budget review continues
Lawmakers can still scrutinize, revise, or remove the provision.
Outcome unresolved
No final status, collection rules, or effective date is specified.
03 / What remains uncertain
Scope, costs, and collections
The proposal’s potential reach depends on details that have not yet been settled.
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. Laurent Lhardit · Amendment sponsor
Rules still needed
It remains unclear how gigabytes would be counted, which providers would meet any liability threshold, and how different kinds of content delivery would be treated.
Effects not yet known
There is no stated implementation date or independent revenue forecast. Whether providers could pass costs on to customers is also unresolved.
04 / Key questions
What the vote means
Has France enacted the tax?
No. The proposal has been added to the budget process but still faces further parliamentary scrutiny.
How much would providers pay?
The amendment proposes €0.55 per gigabyte delivered to French users, roughly $0.62.
Which companies could be affected?
Google, Meta, Netflix, Amazon, and Akamai are named as potential contributors. TikTok and similar services could be included depending on final rules.
When could collection begin?
No effective date is specified. The measure must first survive the remaining budget review, and collection rules are not settled.
A New Cost for High-Traffic Platforms
If enacted, the levy could change how France raises revenue from large digital services: the proposed basis is the volume of content delivered, rather than a company’s local profits or advertising sales. That approach could make the amount owed depend on traffic and the rules used to measure it, potentially reaching a broad range of services that distribute data to users in the country.
The proposal’s potential scale is also contested by uncertainty over its assumptions. Its sponsor’s €10 billion annual estimate indicates the revenue proponents expect, but the available details do not provide a calculation method, collection forecast or assessment of how providers might respond. Until the scope and implementation are set, the effects on companies, users and public revenue remain uncertain.
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How the Budget Proposal Advanced
The measure comes through an amendment to France’s next budget, rather than as a separately enacted tax already being collected. According to the National Assembly minutes described in reporting by Tom’s Hardware, lawmakers approved its inclusion by a one-vote margin, while government-side members and the finance committee rapporteur opposed it. That split signals that the proposal advanced without broad agreement within the legislature.
The proposal’s stated distinction is its focus on digital data flows. It seeks a charge on content providers based on gigabytes distributed to French users, not a levy calculated directly from subscriptions, advertising or profits. The amendment’s notes identify several large platforms and a content delivery network as examples, but those mentions do not establish that every named company would necessarily be liable under a final law.
“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.”
— Laurent Lhardit, the amendment’s sponsor
Scope and Revenue Still Unsettled
The vote does not settle whether the tax will become law. The measure must face further parliamentary scrutiny, and the available information does not specify the remaining steps, a final decision date or whether lawmakers could revise or remove the amendment. The opposition it encountered also leaves its prospects uncertain.
Details needed to assess the measure’s reach are not provided. It remains unclear how gigabytes would be counted, which services would meet any liability threshold, how the levy would treat different types of content delivery, or whether costs could be passed on to customers. The reported €10 billion revenue estimate is attributed to Lhardit; no independent estimate or methodology is given. TikTok’s potential inclusion is likewise described as dependent on how the rules are applied, rather than confirmed.
Further Budget Review Ahead
The next development is the amendment’s progress through further parliamentary review of the budget. Lawmakers may still scrutinize the tax’s rate, scope and revenue assumptions before the budget process is complete. No implementation date or final collection rules are specified in the reported details.
Until that review concludes, providers named in the explanatory notes are potentially affected, not confirmed taxpayers. A final assessment will depend on whether the provision survives the remaining stages and on the wording of any enacted measure, including how it defines covered providers and measures data traffic.
Source: Tom’s Hardware
Key Questions
Did France enact the internet tax?
No. The National Assembly voted to add the proposal to the next budget, but it still faces further parliamentary scrutiny. The vote alone does not put the tax into effect.
How much would providers pay under the proposal?
The amendment proposes a charge of €0.55 per gigabyte of content delivered to French users, roughly $0.62 per gigabyte.
Which companies could be affected?
The proposal’s explanatory notes name Google, Meta, Netflix, Amazon and Akamai as potential contributors. TikTok and similar services could also fall within scope, depending on the final rules.
How much revenue could the tax raise?
Amendment sponsor Laurent Lhardit estimated about €10 billion, or $11.2 billion, annually. That is a sponsor’s estimate; the reported details do not provide a calculation method or independent forecast.
When could the tax take effect?
No effective date is specified. The measure must first survive further review in the budget process, and its final status and implementation details remain unknown.
Source: Tom’s Hardware
