American technology giants Amazon and Apple have not signed up to an initiative by the French government to get global companies in the sector to publicly commit to principles such as paying their fair share of taxes.

Amid a public protest about technology groups’ good fortunes during the pandemic, French President Emmanuel Macron’s advisers were quoted as saying on Monday that the country leader has instead asked tech companies to sign up to a new initiative called “Tech for Good Call” underlining principles post-COVID.

“The goal is also to… observe objectively those who decide to play ball and align their interest with individuals and societies and those who stay out of this joint movement,” said a presidential adviser during a news briefing.

Apple declined to comment, but French officials said talks with the group were ongoing and they could still join the initiative.

Meanhile, French officials said a representative from Amazon, had declined to join the initiative, and did not return a request for comment.

Details of the initiative will be published officially by Tuesday.

The French government has released a list of 75 executives of tech companies that had signed up for the initiative so far, including Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft President Brad Smith.

The new initiative is not legally binding, but French officials said that Macron will use it as a tool to influence upcoming negotiations at global forums on regulating Big Tech.

The US and European governments have clashed over the issue of taxing Big Tech during talks at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

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