Within the governing coalition there is a deep split over how to handle foreign, mainly U.S.-based streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon and Disney.
The Social Democratic Party, led in finance by Lars Klingbeil, backs a statutory requirement that obliges these companies to invest in Germany. Klingbeil points to a corresponding clause in the coalition agreement, arguing that the law would force the firms to allocate a set portion of their profits to local production and infrastructure.
By contrast, the minister of culture, Wolfram Weimer, who works in the chancellery, favours a voluntary approach. He cites investment pledges that he has already received from the U.S. consortia and suggests that firms could continue to meet a broad “investment pledge” without the burdens of formal regulation. Weimer notes that under a legal directive companies might still deploy the required funds elsewhere in the EU because of European law.
The dispute has attracted the attention of the United States. A Bild report cites a letter from Alan Meltzer, the trade officer at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, dated 10 December 2025 and addressed to Finance Minister Klingbeil. In the letter, Meltzer “expresses concern about the potential introduction of an investment obligation for film and streaming platforms operating in Germany”. He requests that the chancellery’s proposal be reoriented toward a voluntary investment pledge instead of “restrictive provisions”. A U.S. embassy spokesperson, replying to Bild, warned that mandating local investment would create an uneven competitive environment, discriminate against U.S. service providers, and fragment the global digital economy.
Weimer’s spokesperson added that the Biden administration closely monitors the German debate, acknowledging that measures similar to those taken by the previous Trump administration cannot be ruled out.
Internally, the friction is compounded by the role of Lars Klingbeil’s State Secretary, Björn Böhning. Until his move to the finance ministry in 2025, Böhning headed the Production Alliance (Allianz Deutscher Produzentinnen und Produzenten), an industry body that is actively lobbying for the statutory investment mandate. According to the finance ministry, Böhning is “not involved in negotiations on film funding”. However, a spokesperson for Weimer said that they do discuss the matter “regularly” including aspects of film funding, with Böhning.
The combination of legal versus voluntary debate, external U.S. pressure and internal party dynamics keeps the issue alive and unsettled within the coalition.
