Rather than align itself with the tech giants under increasing Washington pressure, the streamer has joined forces with the studios and redirected resources where it most needs growth – outside the U.S.

Netflix has been evolving its public policy strategies in recent months to align itself more with Hollywood and less with Silicon Valley, a shift driven by the streamer’s maturation into a full-fledged film and TV studio, by its international expansion and by the intense scrutiny Washington is now applying to the tech companies. In January, Netflix abandoned its previous lobbying cohort, the Internet Association, which represents companies like Facebook and Google, and became the first streaming company to join the MPAA, which represents the major studios. The MPAA’s global reach gives Netflix a bargaining advantage on issues as varied as Latin American tax policy and new European laws regulating streaming companies.

“Netflix is a hybrid company,” says Gigi Sohn, who advised presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton on telecom issues and now serves as a distinguished fellow at the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy. “It’s not your typical Silicon Valley firm and not your typical Hollywood studio, and their policy positions reflect that.”

More at The Hollywood Reporter.