Policy2 min
French lawmakers vote for a tax on internet traffic sent by big tech companies
During the 2027 budget debate, France's National Assembly approved an amendment for a tax of €0.055 per gigabyte of internet traffic. Its author, lawmaker Laurent Lhardit, said content providers would pay it, mostly global tech giants that send most of the traffic to French internet users. He estimated it would raise €10 billion. He said it is based on traffic measured where it enters French networks and respects net neutrality.
Why it matters: It is one vote in a long budget process, not a final law. If it survives, streaming and cloud giants would pay by the gigabyte in France.