It doesn't matter whether you run android TV from the TV itself or an external device.
All the popular streaming services throttle or block open devices.
There's no regulation on it, because regulators want locked-down hardware that can only take actions approved by them.
Even with that, there are plenty of safer distros, or you can even get a cheap mini pc and throw one of the many awesome Linux distros on that have zero tracking and are far more capable/performant.
>All the popular streaming services throttle or block open devices.
This just isn't true. Have never encountered this.
I remember that being a problem in the past, that you were limited to lower resolutions.
More recently I've tried hbo max and it does the same thing. Could not get higher than 720p, even with chrome and whatever DRM options theoretically fix the problem.
https://help.netflix.com/en/node/30081
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39257581
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42685008
Your only options are to sail the high seas or use Android TV.
On the scale of "general-purpose-computer" Vs "applies Netflix DRM", it's at the extreme far end.