There's new consternation in the U.S., as the CRTC slowly winds its way through the Online Streaming Act to see what changes will need to be made in this country to fulfill its provisions.

A group of bipartisan American Congress members have written a letter the U.S. Trade Representative, worried that the provisions of the new law in Canada could try to force streaming music services like Spotify or Apple Music to play the required Canadian content. And they're also concerned about those services being forced to pay out money to support artists here, even if those artists never appear on the services' playlists. 

“We are concerned that under the new law, Canada will apply the logic of quotas designed for terrestrial broadcasters to modern music streaming services. Global online streaming services are not the same as domestic broadcasters, and we believe these provisions clearly discriminate against American content, interfere with consumer choice, and harm American artists and rights holders.”

And they accuse Canada's Broadcasting Act of being something from a "different era" that may no longer apply today.

It's the latest chapter in a dizzying array of possible changes that may not be fully clear until the CRTC finishes finalizing everything in 2026. 

Members of Congress say Canada’s online streaming act discriminates against Americans