The French National Assembly has voted to adopt an amendment to the 2027 budget that would impose a tax of €0.055 per gigabyte on data delivered to French users. The proposal, which faces significant opposition and is not yet law, aims to generate €10 billion annually by targeting major content and service providers.
The immediate implication is a potential surge in operating costs for streamers, as the proposed tax rate significantly exceeds current wholesale data transmission prices. This shift could force providers to choose between aggressive bit-rate compression, which degrades video quality, or passing costs to consumers through higher subscription fees. Within the broader ecosystem, this move signals a departure from the fair share debate—where telcos seek network investment from Big Tech—toward direct state revenue collection. Industry observers should watch the French Senate's upcoming budget review and whether the government invokes Article 49.3 to bypass the vote and potentially strip the amendment from the final 2027 budget.
The French National Assembly has approved a proposal to tax high-traffic content providers €0.055 per gigabyte of data delivered to domestic users. Aiming to generate €10 billion annually, the measure targets companies like Netflix and Google. This shift could force streamers to increase subscription fees or reduce video quality to manage costs.
The French National Assembly has proposed a levy of €0.055 per gigabyte of data delivered to domestic users, capped at 15% of a company's French revenue or 2% of global revenue.
The tax targets high-traffic content providers, specifically Google, Meta, Amazon, Netflix, and Akamai, which account for 50% of the 200 billion gigabytes flowing to French ISPs annually.
VideoLAN has warned that the tax could cost the nonprofit organization over €1 million per year, despite its non-commercial status.
French ISPs, including Orange, SFR, and Bouygues Telecom, would be responsible for measuring and reporting data volumes to tax authorities under the proposed legislation.
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