Netflix Loses Appeal Over Local Production Obligations In Belgium But Court Leaves Door Open For Legal Debate

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Belgium’s Constitutional Court has rejected a Netflix appeal opposing local production investment obligations in the country’s French-Speaking Wallonia-Brussels region.

Netflix filed the appeal last summer in response to a 2024 decision by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation (FWB) to oblige streamers operating in the region to invest up to 9.5% of their turnover in the territory in local production, against 2.2% before.

The obligation was imposed within the tenets of the European Union’s 2018 Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) under which streamers must ensure that at least 30% of their content offering is European in origin.

The transposition of the directive into law across the EU has seen some territories impose obligations around investment in local productions, as well as introduce clauses to protect producer independence and ring-fence rights.

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While widely dismissing the appeal, the Court also referred preliminary questions to

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