France’s National Assembly has approved an amendment to the 2027 budget bill that would impose a charge of €0.055 for every gigabyte of data delivered to internet users in France. The vote, held on October 30, passed 11 to 10, with only 35 of the chamber’s 577 deputies participating. The measure is not yet law and must still clear further parliamentary stages, including the Senate.

The amendment was introduced by Socialist lawmaker Laurent Lhardit. It targets the sender of digital content—such as streaming platforms, cloud providers, content-delivery networks and game distribution services—rather than individual internet users or broadband operators. The proposal explicitly identifies video games as a sector that transmits large volumes of data relative to revenue.

What the levy would cover

Under the proposed wording, the tax would apply to data transmitted to French subscribers. That could include video streaming, social-media traffic, cloud services, software distribution and game downloads. Reporting on the amendment also identifies updates, downloadable content and reinstalls as potentially covered activities.

At the proposed rate, the arithmetic is straightforward: a 100 GB download would generate €5.50 in tax for the provider, while a 200 GB download would generate €11. These figures describe the provider-side levy before any commercial decision on whether to pass costs to customers; no major game platform has confirmed a price change.

How the tax is designed

The proposal differs from a conventional sales tax because it is calculated from delivered data volume rather than the purchase price of a product. The payer would be the entity sending the file to the French user, which could be a publisher, storefront operator or content-delivery network depending on how delivery is structured.

  • Rate: €0.055 per gigabyte delivered to a French internet user.
  • Payer: the content or data provider, not the end user or internet-service provider.
  • Potential scope: streaming, cloud delivery, software distribution and game downloads.
  • Reported revenue ceiling: 15% of French revenue or 2% of worldwide revenue.
  • Legislative status: adopted in a National Assembly vote on the 2027 budget bill, but not enacted.

Impact on game distribution

Modern games are among the most data-intensive consumer products distributed online. Large installations can exceed 100 GB, and post-launch patches, high-resolution texture packs and optional downloadable content can add tens of gigabytes more. Under the proposal, each additional gigabyte delivered would add €0.055 to the provider’s taxable cost.

For example, a 100 GB download through Steam or the PlayStation Store would create a €5.50 tax liability under the proposed rate. A 200 GB title would create an €11 liability. The amendment’s explanatory material specifically cites video games as a category with high data transfer per euro of revenue.

The proposal does not automatically mean French players would see a €5.50 surcharge on a 100 GB game. Platforms could absorb the cost, spread it across subscriptions or catalogue pricing, restrict download options, or change how updates are delivered. No platform has announced such a change.

Political and procedural outlook

The vote was exceptionally narrow: 11 deputies supported the amendment, 10 opposed it and 14 abstained. The French government and the budget bill’s rapporteur opposed the proposal, and the finance committee had previously rejected it.

The amendment now forms part of the first-reading version of the 2027 finance bill, but it still needs Senate approval. Reports indicate that the government has procedural options to challenge or remove the provision before it could enter into force.

Over the next 12 to 24 months, the central questions are whether the Senate preserves the amendment, how taxable data delivery is defined, and whether providers would be required to measure and report traffic at a level that raises privacy or operational concerns. Until those steps are completed, the €0.055-per-GB rate remains a proposal rather than an enforceable tax.

Sources: French National Assembly voting records as reported by Tom’s Hardware, and Kami Labs.