By Jamie Casemore, with reporting by Kelly Townsend

This story originally appeared in Kidscreen‘s sister publication, Playback.

A new bill targeting Canada’s Online Streaming Act has been submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Introduced by Republican congressman Lloyd Smucker, the bill (the Protecting American Streaming and Innovation Act) would, if passed, trigger an investigation into the Online Streaming Act under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. The section allows the United States trade representative to retaliate, most commonly with tariffs, against foreign policy that is deemed unfair to U.S. commerce.

After President Donald Trump’s across-the-board tariffs were struck down by the Supreme Court last month, the White House indicated that it could reinstate tariffs for specific countries using other avenues, such as the Trade Act.

The bill is co-sponsored by Smucker’s fellow Republican Reps. Greg Steube, Nicole Malliotakis, Nathaniel Moran, Mike Kelly and Carol Miller. U.S. trade associations such as the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and the Digital Media Association have also expressed support for the bill.

The Online Streaming Act, which was passed in April 2023, gives the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) new regulatory powers to adapt the Broadcasting Act to the online ecosystem and bring digital and streaming services under regulation, as digital services had previously been exempt.

Those regulatory policies include mandatory base contributions from foreign-owned streaming services towards the production of Canadian content, an aspect Smucker’s office takes issue with, according to a press release, claiming that the CRTC has “imposed costly financial and regulatory burdens on U.S.-based digital services while exempting Canadian competitors.”

The base contributions decision was issued in June 2024 and requires foreign-owned streaming services with annual Canadian revenues of $25 million or more to contribute 5% of their Canadian revenue to the domestic broadcasting system. The contributions are meant to be allocated to various production funds in Canada, including the Canada Media Fund, the Shaw Rocket Fund and the Indigenous Screen Office Fund, to name a few, though streamers would get to choose which funds they give the money to.

However, the CRTC’s base contributions are currently on hold due to a legal challenge in the Federal Court of Appeal from MPA-Canada—the body that represents the interests of companies such as Netflix and Paramount in Canada—as well as Spotify, Apple and Amazon.

Smucker’s targeting of the Online Streaming Act follows previous U.S. attacks on Canadian policies that impact U.S. multinationals in the digital space.

Last year, Trump paused trade discussions and threatened to institute additional tariffs on Canada due to the Digital Services Tax Act passed in 2024, which would have taxed companies that receive revenue from digital services in the country, such as advertising and selling user data. Canada rescinded the tax in June 2025 in order to advance trade negotiations with the U.S.

Outside of digital and streaming, Trump has also repeatedly threatened to institute a 100% tariff on films made outside the U.S. However, details on how or if that tariff will be implemented have not been revealed.

Canada will head back to the negotiation table with the U.S. this July as part of a review of the Canada-United States-Mexico free trade agreement. Minister of Canadian identity and culture Marc Miller has declined to commit to keeping the Online Streaming Act off of the negotiating table, but said in January that “there are red lines in and around culture, protecting artists, that we can’t and shouldn’t cross.”

The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA), in a statement to Playback Daily, said: “At its core, the Online Streaming Act is about fairness, recognizing how content is consumed in the digital age and ensuring that online streaming platforms carry requirements similar to those of traditional broadcasters. By bringing these platforms in line with the rest of the industry, we can level the playing field and help secure a future where Canadian stories are supported, funded and accessible across platforms available to, and paid for by, Canadians.”

Image courtesy of Jason Hafso via Unsplash.