France Wants to Charge €0.055 per Gigabyte from Google and Netflix

On October 30, the French National Assembly approved an amendment introducing a tax on the volume of internet data transmitted to French users. The initiative was supported by 11 deputies, while 10 voted against it. The amendment is included in the country's budget but still needs to pass the Senate. The authors estimate annual revenues of €10 billion. The government representatives and the financial committee's rapporteur opposed it, and a significant portion of deputies were absent, although the required quorum was met.

The amendment was authored by socialist deputy Laurent Lardit. Content providers will pay the state €0.055 (about $0.06) for each gigabyte sent to French users. The tax targets companies with high internet traffic, rather than advertising revenue, profit, or subscriptions. The explanatory note names Google, Meta, Netflix, Amazon, and the content delivery network provider Akamai as the main payers. TikTok and similar platforms may also be affected depending on the law's application.

Internet providers, including Orange, Free, and Iliad, will need to measure the volume of data and identify the companies sending it. The information must be reported quarterly to the French tax administration under the supervision of the communications regulator Arcep. In addition to the €0.055 per gigabyte rate, the amendment introduces a cap: 15% of a company's revenue in France or 2% of its global revenue. Content delivery networks, which store copies of data closer to users to reduce loading times and network load, are separately accounted for.

Approximately 200 billion gigabytes of data pass through French internet providers annually. About half of this traffic is generated by the five major companies mentioned in the amendment. Lardit stated that the tax will primarily impact global tech giants, as they generate the majority of traffic for French subscribers. The deputy also disputed the argument that platforms will simply pass the costs onto users: "The rapporteur constantly says that taxes will be passed onto consumers. However, I don't understand how a tax can be passed onto Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok users, as these services are free."

Opponents of the initiative believe it could threaten user privacy. Minister David Amiel doubted that traffic could be measured and attributed to content providers without complex monitoring requirements. There are also concerns about potential consequences for French businesses. Lardit countered that the costs for companies will be relatively modest, citing TF1 as an example, where broadcasters contribute between €200,000 and €300,000.