The National Assembly voted 11-10, with only 35 of 577 deputies present, to approve an amendment by Socialist deputy Laurent Lhardit taxing content providers 5.5 cents per gigabyte sent to French internet users. ISPs would track data flows and bill senders, with charges capped at 15% of French revenue or 2% of global revenue; supporters project €10 billion in annual revenue, drawing on regulator Arcep's estimate that five companies—Google, Meta, Amazon, Netflix and Akamai—generate about half of the 200 billion gigabytes delivered yearly.
techspot.com
· 2026-11-02
Tracking sites Starlink Flights and Stardrift report that several airlines are well into equipping their fleets with Starlink Wi-Fi. WestJet has outfitted 76-83% of its planes (at least 100 confirmed), Qatar Airways roughly 60% (over 150 planes, all 787-8s done, targeting full 787 completion by end of 2026), Air France around 65% (at least 150 planes, unconfirmed by the airline), and SAS has confirmed 70% completion including all A320neo jets. Emirates has installed Starlink on over 50 planes at a pace of about 14 per month, while Alaska Airlines is now installing it on mainline and widebody jets.
engadget.com
· 2026-11-01
French lawmakers voted 11-10 on October 30 to add a per-gigabyte internet traffic tax to the country's upcoming budget. The measure, proposed by socialist lawmaker Laurent Lhardit, would charge €0.055 per gigabyte delivered to France's roughly 154 million internet users, targeting companies like Google, Meta, Netflix, Amazon and Akamai rather than their ad revenue or profits. ISPs such as Orange and Liad would measure data volumes and report quarterly to tax authorities under regulator Arcep's oversight.
tech.slashdot.org
· 2026-10-31
France's National Assembly voted 11-10 on October 30 to approve a tax amendment charging content providers €0.055 (about $0.06) per gigabyte of data sent to French users, rather than taxing ad revenue or profits. Proposed by lawmaker Laurent Lhardit, the measure is projected to raise roughly €10 billion ($11.2 billion) annually and names Google, Meta, Netflix, Amazon and Akamai as likely major payers, with ISPs tasked to measure and report data volumes to tax authorities each quarter.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-10-31
A Socialist-group amendment in France would levy a tax of €0.055 per gigabyte on internet data delivered to users, collected via measurements from internet service providers. The proposal targets major international tech firms that account for most data traffic, and its backers project it could raise around €10 billion in revenue.
resetera.com
· 2026-10-30
French energy company ENGIE disclosed that attackers accessed customer data by breaching a marketing tool used by its business partners for prospecting and promoting energy offers. The company said its internal IT systems were not affected, the incident is limited to customers in France, and stolen data includes names, addresses, phone numbers, contract numbers and metering IDs but no banking details.
bleepingcomputer.com
· 2026-10-27
A new analysis cites AI Weekly data showing American AI companies pulled in $355.9 billion of venture funding in the first half of 2026, compared with roughly $42 billion raised by European AI startups over the same period. The author, an AI engineer building the French startup ChatMakr, argues this funding gap, combined with France's exit tax on unrealized startup gains, is a key driver behind European founders relocating to the US.
entrepreneur.com
· 2026-10-26
French authorities have reportedly asked internet service providers to prepare the technical means to temporarily block access to major social media platforms via DNS. The request appears aimed at giving the government a rapid-response tool it could deploy if deemed necessary, though no actual blocking has been confirmed as carried out.
blast-info.fr
· 2026-10-25
French health authorities confirmed that a severely immunocompromised patient in Lyon died this month after contracting Shamonda virus, a pathogen previously known only to infect cattle, sheep and goats. Officials believe the person was bitten by a biting midge, the insect that normally spreads the virus among livestock, and say neurological complications before death were likely linked to the infection. The government states there is no known risk to the general public but that investigations continue.
wired.com
· 2026-10-22
Quad9, the free public DNS resolver service, announced it will stop offering recursive DNS resolution to users in France starting November 24. The move follows a French court ruling in favor of Qatari broadcaster beIN that ordered Quad9 to block resolution of certain domain names accused of hosting pirated sports broadcasts, though the court did lower the proposed daily fine from €580,000 to €1,000.
quad9.net
· 2026-10-22
Video and photos circulating on social media show Apple stores in Bordeaux and Lille emptied by looters during nationwide French unrest, alongside Louis Vuitton stores in Bordeaux and a Hermès boutique in Marseille. The protests, which began over school staffing and overcrowding, also saw municipal buildings damaged, cars set on fire, and roughly 1,200 arrests amid turnout estimated between 550,000 and 800,000 people.
9to5mac.com
· 2026-10-21
French minister Serge Papin announced an agreement with major online platforms—including Vinted, eBay, Amazon, LeBonCoin, Meta and TikTok—to crack down on resale of goods looted during recent riots. The companies agreed to pass reports to investigators, monitor listings for stolen items tied to the unrest, and send the government updates on their actions within 48 hours. The riots followed protests over living costs and public services, resulting in looting of over 1,500 businesses and more than 2,400 arrests.
wired.com
· 2026-10-20
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