France’s National Assembly has narrowly approved a proposed French data tax that would charge internet content providers €0.055 for every gigabyte of data transmitted to users in the country. The amendment to the 2027 budget passed on 30 October 2026 by 11 votes to 10, with 14 abstentions, despite opposition from the government. The proposal, introduced by Socialist deputy Laurent Lhardit, is intended to raise approximately €10 billion annually, primarily from large technology companies. However, the vote does not make the tax law, and its prospects of surviving the remaining budget process are uncertain. How the French data tax would work Under amendment I-1358 , internet service providers including Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Free would measure the volume of data delivered to their customers by individual content providers. The measurements would be consolidated and anonymised under the supervision of French telecommunications regulator Arcep and the tax authorities. Content providers would pay the levy, subject to a ceiling of 15% of their French revenue or 2% of their worldwide revenue. The amendment also addresses content delivery networks (CDNs), which cache files on servers closer to end users. Traffic would be measured as it leaves these networks, rather than solely at the originating content provider’s servers. Internet service providers would submit quarterly measurements to the tax authorities. The proposal’s authors cite an estimated 200 billion gigabytes of annual traffic delivered to French internet subscribers. According to Arcep’s latest annual reporting , Akamai, Netflix, Amazon, Google and Meta collectively accounted for approximately 49% of traffic delivered to French users at the end of 2025. Technical and economic objections Public accounts minister David Amiel questioned the practicalities of identifying and measuring individual companies’ traffic without additional network monitoring equipment. He also warned that approximately half the anticipated tax burden could fall on smaller content providers, including French companies. Budget rapporteur Philippe Juvin argued that major platforms could pass the additional costs on to advertisers. Although subscribers would not be taxed directly, companies could also recover their costs through higher subscription prices or other charges. The proposal has implications beyond streaming services. Large software downloads, cloud storage, games distribution and other data-intensive services could all be affected. French non-profit VideoLAN, developer of the VLC media player, has warned that the proposed levy could cost it more than €1 million annually. At European level, network funding is already under discussion. As eeNews Europe previously reported , the European Commission’s proposed Digital Networks Act includes mechanisms for voluntary cooperation between network operators and content providers, rather than mandatory traffic-based payments. French data tax faces uncertain future The amendment’s passage was particularly unusual because only 35 of the National Assembly’s 577 deputies participated in the vote. Subsequently, two deputies from La France insoumise acknowledged that they had mistakenly voted in favour, according to French parliamentary broadcaster LCP . The National Assembly is scheduled to vote on the revenue section of the 2027 budget on 3 November. Rejection would mean that the government’s original budget text, which does not contain the proposed levy, would advance to the Senate. The government could also omit the amendment if it invokes Article 49.3 of the French Constitution to advance the budget without a parliamentary vote. Consequently, there is no certainty that the proposed tax will form part of France’s final 2027 budget. The post French data tax passes narrow parliamentary vote appeared first on eeNews Europe .