A new law in California aims to stop commercial advertising from increasing the volume of streaming services.
The law, which states that advertising cannot be louder than the underlying video content being watched, is based on a federal law that sets the volume of advertising on broadcast television and cable stations, including streaming platforms.
Opponents, including the powerful entertainment industry, argued that it would be difficult to implement because streaming services do not have the same control over advertising volume as broadcasters.
Streaming platforms Netflix and Hulu are headquartered in California, and Amazon produces many of its Prime Video shows and movies there.
In 2010, Congress passed the Commercial Advertising Loudness Mitigation Act (CALM) to reduce the volume on television and radio stations.
The law, which California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law on Monday, requires streaming services to also comply with an Obama-era federal law.
These services were in their infancy when the CALM Act was passed, but have since become the primary viewing option for many US households.
“We've heard Californians loud and clear, and what's clear is that they don't want advertising to be any louder than the level at which they previously enjoyed the program,” Newsom said after signing the bill.
Current federal law requires the federal regulator, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), to develop rules that require commercials to have the same average length as the programs they accompany, according to the bill.
In February, the FCC said it had received thousands of complaints about loud advertising over the past few years, many of which related to streaming services.
The law, which would go into effect on or after July 1, 2026, would prohibit a video streaming service serving consumers in the state from broadcasting the audio of commercial advertisements louder than the video content people watch.
“This bill was inspired by Little Samantha and every exhausted parent who has finally put their child to bed only to see blaring streaming ads that undo all that hard work,” said State Senator Thomas Umberg, who introduced the bill.
Samantha is the daughter of Umberg Legislative Director Zack Keller, who told him about a noisy commercial that woke up his baby daughter while he was watching a streaming show.
However, the Motion Picture Association and the Streaming Innovation Alliance, which represents streaming services including Disney and Netflix, initially opposed the bill.
They said they have no control over volume settings on devices that offer their content, unlike broadcast and cable providers.
Streaming advertising comes from several different sources and cannot necessarily or practically be controlled, MPA Vice President of State Government Affairs Melissa Pathak said in June.
The bill was later amended to include a provision that would prohibit individuals or individuals from suing streaming services for violating the law.
As a result, both groups remained neutral on the amended bill, according to the Los Angeles Times.
