A bill introducing a so-called "traffic tax" (or "internet tax")—which levies taxes on online content providers such as Google, Netflix, Meta, TikTok, and Amazon, as well as Content Delivery Network (CDN) companies based on their volume of data transfer—passed France's National Assembly on the 1st.
The bill centers on levying a tax of €0.055 (approx. 82.4 won) per 1 GB of internet data transmitted to users in France. Under the proposed system, internet service providers (ISPs) would aggregate data traffic for each company and report it on a quarterly basis. In cases where CDNs are used, taxation would be based on the volume of data transmitted from the CDN to end users. The Socialist Party (Parti socialiste) of France and allied lawmakers who introduced the bill estimated that it could generate up to €10 billion (approx. 15 trillion won) in annual tax revenue. Additionally, to prevent an excessive tax burden, the tax amount is capped at 15% of a provider's French revenue or 2% of its global revenue.
However, contrary to rumors spreading across some online communities, this bill does not directly apply pay-per-use internet pricing to individual users. As mentioned earlier, the tax targets businesses such as online content providers and CDN companies. The issue is that the taxes imposed on companies could ultimately be passed on to consumers. Concerns are rising that if the tax burden increases corporate costs, global platforms like Netflix and YouTube might respond by raising subscription fees or restricting video quality and download caps.
In particular, the impact on the gaming industry is expected to be significant. Many recently released games feature installation sizes exceeding 100 GB; by simple calculation, serving a 100 GB game to a French user would result in a €5.5 (approx. 8,240 won) tax on the company. As the cost burden inevitably increases for companies offering high-capacity games, concerns are being raised that this could lead to higher game prices or subscription fees.
For these reasons, critics argue that the bill could stifle growth across data-heavy sectors as a whole, including not only the gaming industry but also cloud services, AI model training, and streaming platforms.
However, prevailing observations suggest that the bill's actual chances of being enacted remain low. During the French National Assembly's budget bill review, the measure passed by a margin of just one vote—11 in favor to 10 opposed—and even the French government and the Finance Committee rapporteur strongly oppose it, citing side effects such as increased burdens on small and medium-sized enterprises and service price hikes.
Nevertheless, given that France must tackle its massive fiscal deficit and revenue shortfall, debates over securing public finances are likely to continue for the foreseeable future.
