France’s National Assembly has voted to add a France gigabyte tax to the 2027 budget, charging content providers €0.055 for every gigabyte sent to French internet users. The October 30 vote was 11 to 10, with 14 abstentions, and the tax is not law. If it clears later votes, it could change prices and video quality on the apps you use.
Key Takeaways
- France’s National Assembly backed a €0.055 per-gigabyte tax on October 30.
- Authors estimate up to €10 billion a year from content providers.
- Google, Meta, Amazon, Netflix and Akamai are named as top targets.
- The tax is not law yet; the Senate and government can still stop it.
How the France Gigabyte Tax Would Work
Lawmakers adopted amendment I-1358 on Friday, October 30, according to the session record cited by TNW. Socialist deputy Laurent Lhardit tabled the text. The government and the finance committee both opposed it.
The rate is €0.055, about $0.06, per gigabyte delivered to customers of French internet providers. Authors estimate about €10 billion a year, roughly $11.2 billion as Tom’s Hardware frames it. The target is data sent, not ads, profits, or subscriptions.
Lhardit said, in remarks reported by Tom’s Hardware:
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.
A few figures and limits in the amendment:
- 200 billion gigabytes a year reach French subscribers, per Arcep
- Google, Meta, Amazon, Netflix and Akamai account for about half
- TikTok could be covered, depending on how the rules are applied
- A cap limits the bill to 15% of French revenue or 2% of worldwide revenue
- Nonprofits and open-source projects get no exemption
How the Traffic Would Be Measured
Users and internet providers would not pay. Providers would measure volume, name the sender, and file quarterly totals with the tax office under Arcep. The text bars any record of content or destination.
If a content delivery network is used, traffic counts as it leaves that network, and the network can pass the tax on without naming customers, packetloss.wtf reported.
A decree would still have to define the measurement. Frandroid noted a snag: under HTTPS, a provider does not always know where data is headed. David Amiel, the public accounts minister, told MPs the scheme would need sensors on the networks, or measurement on users’ own devices.
Lawmakers opposed to the proposal argue that it is likely to endanger user privacy, Tom’s Hardware reported. That privacy objection is separate from the question of how volume would be measured.
What a Gigabyte Could Cost
| Example | Figure |
|---|---|
| 100 GB game download | 5,50 euros for Steam or the PlayStation Store |
| Average fixed line, early 2026 | 267 GB a month, or 14,70 euros in theoretical tax |
| Wholesale transport | Generally under one euro cent per gigabyte |
| Full traffic, before caps | 200 billion GB, or €11 billion at the voted rate |
| VideoLAN, maker of VLC | More than €1 million a year |
Frandroid used those cases to show the levy is more than five times typical wholesale transport, which generally costs less than one euro cent per gigabyte. Amiel said about half the yield would hit smaller providers, many of them French. On the authors’ €10 billion estimate, that is about €5 billion, TNW reported.
VideoLAN, the French nonprofit behind VLC, said its cost would exceed €1 million a year. VLC has passed 6 billion downloads. On X, the group wrote:
So, the French socialists, and Parliament members just voted a tax, that they don’t understand, which would cost VideoLAN more than 1 million euro per year.
What This Means for Your Feed
Lhardit does not think free apps can pass a tax along. He said, as carried by Tom’s Hardware:
The rapporteur keeps arguing that the taxes will be passed on to consumers. However, I fail to see how a tax can be passed on to users of Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok since these services are free.
Philippe Juvin warned that big platforms could pass the cost on to advertisers. Frandroid noted that nothing stops Netflix, Disney+, or a game publisher from adding the levy to French subscription prices.
Frandroid also noted that flat plans do not match a tax that grows with each hour of video watched. Platforms could raise prices, accept lower margins, or send less data by compressing video or lowering definition. The amendment presents lower definition as an environmental benefit.
This is not law yet. Deputies must still pass the revenue section. A first-section vote is set for early November, Tom’s Hardware reported. The Senate’s Les Républicains majority is unlikely to back it, Martin Clavey reported for Next, according to TNW.
The government can force the budget through under Article 49.3 and leave the amendment out. Amiel said France already has a digital services tax. Internet users and access providers would not be billed directly if the text survives.
