Local PDF Loop Displays €31.70 Under France’s Proposed Data Tax

A local PDF loop showed a theoretical €31.70 charge under France’s proposed data tax, highlighting how the measure would apply to network traffic sent by content providers.

The loop counted 13,109 serves of a roughly 44-megabyte PDF, about 576 gigabytes in aggregate. At the proposed rate of €0.055 per gigabyte, the counter displayed about €31.70. The PDF was served from a copy on the same machine, so the test did not contact the Socialist Party’s website or create a billable internet transfer.

France’s National Assembly adopted amendment I-1358 to the 2027 budget on Friday, Oct. 30, by 11 votes to 10, with 14 abstentions. The amendment would make content providers liable for data sent to French internet subscribers. Internet providers would identify senders, measure traffic volumes and report them quarterly to tax authorities.

The proposal names Google, Meta, Amazon, Netflix and Akamai among its expected targets. It has not become law.

The government and Philippe Juvin, the finance committee’s general rapporteur, opposed the measure. Juvin warned, “The risk is that they pass the burden of this tax on to advertisers.”

The Assembly is scheduled to vote Tuesday, Nov. 3, on the revenue section of the 2027 budget as a whole, rather than on this amendment alone.