French MPs back a per-gigabyte tax on Google, Netflix and Meta traffic.

France's National Assembly voted on 30 October for an amendment that would charge content providers €0.055 for every gigabyte they send to internet subscribers in France. It is an early step in the 2027 budget, the government opposes it, and nothing has been enacted.

Amendment I-1358, filed by Socialist deputy Laurent Lhardit and backed by 68 members of his group, passed by 11 votes to 10 with 14 abstentions, according to PPC Land's reading of the debate record. Only 35 deputies took part. The text, published on the Assembly's website, would add a "tax on digital data producers" to the General Tax Code. Internet providers would measure the volumes, the public finances directorate would collect the money, and the bill would be capped at 15% of a company's French revenue or 2% of its total revenue. The authors expect about €10bn a year.

The amendment's justification names Google, Meta, Amazon, Netflix and Akamai as the five firms behind half the traffic measured by Arcep, the telecoms regulator. It argues that data volume is a fair stand-in for activity by companies that book profits elsewhere, and says the counting would never look at the content of the data. Both the government and the finance committee's general rapporteur spoke against it.

Plenty is unclear. The text doesn't say which cap applies when the two thresholds differ, how a company is identified on the network, or how traffic passing through content delivery networks or third-party ad servers would be attributed. PPC Land notes that 200 billion gigabytes at the stated rate gives €11bn, not €10bn, and the amendment doesn't explain the gap. The finance bill still has to clear the rest of its first reading and the Senate, where the measure could be rewritten or dropped.

For Gulf marketers the direct effect is small, but the idea is worth watching. Regional brands that buy video inventory in France, or on global platforms whose costs rise, could see the bill land in media prices if the measure survives.