A proposal to tax content providers 5.5 euro cents per gigabyte of data consumed in France has passed an initial National Assembly vote, but remains several parliamentary stages away from becoming law.

The amendment, considered during scrutiny of the 2027 budget, passed by 11 votes to 10. It would impose a tax on digital data traffic, affecting providers including Netflix, YouTube and Meta. Estimated receipts are about €10 billion, although that figure is a projection rather than revenue already secured.

The amendment’s proponent argues that content providers should pay, particularly foreign platforms said to account for the overwhelming majority of data traffic delivered to subscribers in France. The stated intention is that subscribers themselves would pay nothing.

That assurance goes further than the protection described in the amendment. A community note accompanying the announcement points out that amendment I-1358 contains no provision preventing providers from passing the tax on to subscribers. Making platforms legally responsible for paying a tax does not, by itself, guarantee that they will absorb its cost rather than recover it from customers. Equally, the absence of a ban does not establish that providers will increase prices.

The distinction matters for subscribers: the proposal identifies who would pay the tax directly, but does not guarantee who would ultimately bear its cost.

Before the measure could take effect, the National Assembly must complete its votes on the 2027 budget, followed by Senate scrutiny. Any disagreements between the two chambers would need to be resolved where necessary, before final approval and publication of the law.