Contesting Corporate Influence: A Comparative Analysis of Digital Audiovisual Regulation Under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and Audiovisual Media Services Directive

Abstract

This article compares regional legal frameworks regulating audiovisual streaming platforms in North America and the European Union. It examines the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), focusing on their policy formation processes. Through thematic analysis of legal documents, media reports, and scholarly literature, the study identifies key provisions shaping digital audiovisual industries, the roles of interest groups, and the geopolitical factors influencing policy outcomes. By highlighting these contrasting approaches—free trade imperatives in the USMCA versus cultural and social priorities in the AVMSD—this article underscores how social power relations and regional dynamics shape streaming platform regulation. It positions audiovisual policy as a key site of contestation between free-market globalism and national/regional sovereignty, offering insights into the broader global implications of these frameworks.