AI-Translated from Korean · K-EnterTech Hub🇰🇷 Originally published in Korean: 넷플릭스, EU 현지 제작 투자 의무 소송 1라운드 패소
Belgium’s Constitutional Court rules that the Wallonia-Brussels Federation’s streamer investment mandate is constitutional…additional review by the Court of Justice of the European Union is still to come
As K-content reshapes the global streaming market, governments in country after country are also giving greater legal weight to their determination to regulate the streaming platforms that dominate that market.
On March 27 (local time), Belgium’s Constitutional Court dismissed most of Netflix’s objections and ruled that the Wallonia-Brussels Federation (FWB)’s local content investment mandate remains valid. Under this regulation, Netflix and Disney+ must invest at least 9.5% of their regional revenue in the production of local French-language content—more than four times the previous 2.2% requirement.
This ruling is not merely a Belgian legal issue. Since the EU granted member states the authority to impose local investment obligations through the 2018 Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), 16 countries have joined in. As content consumption erases borders and platform power becomes more concentrated, the counterattack by national governments—framed as a defense of cultural sovereignty—has now established its first legal milestone.
Background of the Case: Why Belgium Became the Front Line
As the rise of K-content symbolizes, US-based streaming services have also been expanding globally at a rapid pace. Netflix is not the only streaming service to expand across global regions such as Korea and Europe. Mid-sized streaming services such as Disney, HBO MAX, and Paramount Plus are also broadening their footprint in Europe and Asia, and more recently the global expansion of FAST, free ad-supported streaming television, has also been accelerating.
As the number of countries they enter grows, conflicts over investment obligations are also intensifying. These clashes are especially sharp in markets connected to countries such as Korea and Japan that supply large volumes of popular non-English-language content. The region where these conflicts are most pronounced is Europe. Europe is already well known for its tough regulatory stance toward US-based media tech platforms.
The European Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) requires streaming platforms to ensure that at least 30% of their catalogs consist of European works, while also allowing each member state to set additional investment ratios for local content production. Since France introduced an investment obligation of as much as 25% in 2020, a total of 16 countries—including Greece (1.5%), the Czech Republic (3.5%), Denmark, Spain, and Italy—have implemented similar systems.
Belgium’s Wallonia-Brussels Federation (FWB) is a small French-speaking community of about 4.6 million people, accounting for only about 1% of the EU’s total population. Even so, in 2024 it raised the investment obligation on streaming platforms to 9.5%, and if companies fail to comply, they are required to pay a direct levy to its affiliated agency, the Centre du Cinéma et de l'Audiovisuel. In response, Netflix filed an objection with the Constitutional Court last summer, and Disney+ joined as an interested party in November of the same year.
Kris Marczich, president of the Association of European Film Agencies (EFAD), analyzed the essence of the lawsuit as follows. “Backed by the Motion Picture Association (MPA), Netflix and Disney are using this lawsuit as a vehicle to shake the entire AVMSD framework.” In other words, it is interpreted as a so-called “Trojan horse strategy” aimed at targeting a small market in order to dismantle the EU-wide structure of investment obligations.
The Ruling: Constitutional, but the Door Remains Open
The Constitutional Court dismissed most of Netflix’s main objections and preserved the force of the FWB regulation. However, on 4 detailed issues, it requested a preliminary ruling from the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU), meaning the legal dispute has not been fully closed.
The main issues include the legality of a provision that does not recognize the acquisition of distribution rights as eligible investment performance, whether the method of paying into public funds complies with EU law, and whether levies paid in other EU member states can be offset. The ECJ’s first hearing is expected no earlier than June 2026, and a final ruling usually takes 1~2 years.
Julie-Jeanne Régnault, secretary general of the European Producers Club (EPC), welcomed the decision, saying that “the discretion of member states to determine the level of their cultural policy sovereignty and financial obligations has been reaffirmed.” She stressed that “cultural diversity cannot be preserved witho
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고삼석 상임의장 · Chairman Samseog Ko
고삼석(Ko Samseog)은 K-EnterTech Forum 상임의장입니다. 동국대학교 첨단융합대학 석좌교수이자 국가인공지능전략위원회 분과위원으로, 30년 이상의 방송통신 정책 및 산업 경험을 바탕으로 K-콘텐츠와 글로벌 엔터테인먼트 기술의 융합을 선도하고 있습니다. 前 방송통신위원회 상임위원을 역임했으며, ZDNet Korea에 정기 칼럼을 연재 중입니다.
Samseog Ko is the founding Chairman (상임의장) of K-EnterTech Forum. He is a Distinguished Professor at Dongguk University and a member of Korea's National AI Strategy Committee. Former Commissioner of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC).
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