The French Parliament has approved a budget amendment that would impose a tax of €0.055 (~RM0.25) per gigabyte (GB) of content delivered to internet users in France. The proposal was approved on October 30, but it has not yet become law, as it must still undergo further approval processes, including review by the French Senate.
If enacted, companies that generate significant data traffic—such as Google, Netflix, Meta, Amazon, and TikTok—would be required to pay this tax to the French government. France could potentially generate approximately €10 billion in annual tax revenue. The tax is capped at a maximum of 15% of a company’s revenue in France, or 2% of its global revenue.
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) would be responsible for measuring data traffic volumes, identifying the companies responsible for the data transmission, and submitting quarterly reports to the French tax authorities.
France is not the first nation to consider introducing a data traffic tax on platform operators. South Korea has previously sought payments from service providers to cover the costs of maintaining internet infrastructure when those providers generate high levels of traffic. This led Twitch to cease its operations in South Korea in 2021, as the company could no longer sustain the associated operating costs.
