French politicians have passed a bill that could see online-video services, YouTube included, have a 2% tax levied on their advertising revenues. What’s inevitably being called the ‘YouTube tax’ would be used to finance local content, starting with the National Film Board. “The bill will now be taken up by the French Senate as part of the budget law during the last quarter of this year. If passed, the measure would then require approval from the European Commission,” reported Variety, which suggested that the bill could ultimately extend to companies like Apple, Facebook and Amazon. “This tax is rooted in the philosophy which has traditionally guided the financing of culture, having content distributors contribute to the financing of this content,” said the French guild of authors, directors and producers. Music rightsholders will be watching the bill’s progress with interest.
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In the year or so since its launch, AI startup Kaiber has been making waves,…