Free founder Xavier Niel attacks French data tax of 5.5 cents per gigabyte

Xavier Niel, the founder of the French telecoms group Free, has sharply criticised the authors of a proposed tax on digital data traffic. Asked about the measure on X, he called its backers "ignares incompétents", which translates roughly as ignorant and incompetent people 1. His remarks came after the proposal was approved in the French National Assembly on Friday 1.

The measure, which Numerama attributes to Socialist deputies, would require producers of digital data to pay 5.5 cents for every gigabyte 13. Golem.de reports that the National Assembly adopted an amendment to that effect 3. Heise online describes it as a motion in the French parliament that provides for taxing internet data traffic, and says the first companies are already protesting strongly against it 2. The sources do not give details on how the levy would be collected, which firms would be affected or how much revenue it might raise.

The sources do not discuss wider European implications, so it is unclear how the proposal might interact with EU rules or with plans in other member states. What is clear is that a vote in the National Assembly is only one step, and the sources do not describe the next stages of the legislative process or whether the measure will become law. Industry resistance reported by heise online, together with Niel's public criticism, suggests the debate is likely to continue 12.