WASHINGTON, May 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) released a report, "Death by a Thousand Quotas: the Impact of Foreign Regulations on Streaming Services," highlighting foreign governments' attempts to impose minimum investment requirements, local content quotas, and taxes on American streaming platforms as a condition of being allowed to operate in their countries. The report documents these attempts at taxation and regulation and demonstrates the detrimental impact on U.S. companies and consumers in relevant countries.

Key report findings include:

• The European Union (EU) was one of the first governments to implement regulations on video-on-demand streaming services and has enacted a 30 percent catalog quota favoring European content, while enabling local governments to pass specific legislation mandating foreign streaming services to spend a percentage of their local revenue on local content production.
• Like the EU, Canada's approach features subnational legislation further complicating and driving up compliance costs. Québec's Bill 109 imposes content quotas and "discoverability" rules and establishes "must-carry rules," all of which impose needless costs on streaming services and their customers.
• On November 27, 2025, the Australian Parliament passed a law imposing a minimum expenditure requirement for video streaming platforms, which forces platforms to invest in local content to operate in the country.
• Since 2017, Brazil has been considering passing similar regulations on streaming services. There has been renewed momentum on passing a quota and forced investment bill following a political push by local producers and President Lula da Silva.

Ross Marchand, Executive Director of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, offered the following comment:

"Foreign governments are layering taxes, quotas, and forced investment mandates onto American streaming services simply for the privilege of operating abroad. The report makes clear that this is not an isolated issue but a coordinated trend that risks distorting global markets, undermining competition, and ultimately raising prices for consumers worldwide. Policymakers need to wake up to how these protectionist policies masquerading as cultural promotion are making life more difficult for streaming services and their subscribers.

The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis, and dissemination of information on the government's impact on the economy.

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SOURCE Taxpayers Protection Alliance