Govind Tekale
Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill Monday that will stop streaming services from blasting viewers with commercials louder than the shows they’re watching. The new law, Senate Bill 576, will force streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ to keep ad volumes at the same level as the programming they accompany.
“We heard Californians loud and clear, and what’s clear is that they don’t want commercials at a volume any louder than the level at which they were previously enjoying a program,” Newsom said when announcing the bill’s signing. “California is dialing down this inconvenience across streaming platforms.”
The law extends existing federal rules to streaming services. Back in 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act, which set limits on how loud TV and cable networks could make their commercials. But that law came before streaming took off, leaving a gap that California’s new legislation now fills.
The rule won’t take effect until July 1, 2026, giving streaming companies time to implement the necessary technical changes.
Senator Thomas Umberg (D-Santa Ana), who wrote the bill, shared a personal story behind its creation. “This bill was inspired by baby Samantha and every exhausted parent who’s finally gotten a baby to sleep, only to have a blaring streaming ad undo all that hard work,” he explained. “SB 576 brings some much-needed peace and quiet to California households.”
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The legislation passed through the state legislature without a single vote against it, showing rare unanimous support among California’s 120 lawmakers.
Not everyone supported the bill, though. California’s entertainment industry, including the Motion Picture Association of America, opposed the measure. According to the CalMatters Digital Democracy database, the MPAA has donated at least $204,000 to lawmakers since 2015. Industry representatives argued that streaming platforms don’t have the same control over ad volumes as traditional broadcasters, making the regulation difficult to implement.
The issue has gained importance as more streaming services have added ad-supported tiers to their offerings. Many viewers who previously enjoyed ad-free streaming now face commercial interruptions, with the sudden volume increase becoming a common complaint.
The official bill text states that it “prohibits, on and after July 1, 2026, a video streaming service that serves consumers in the state from transmitting the audio of commercial advertisements louder than the video content the advertisements accompany.” It also specifically notes that the law does not create a private right of action, meaning individuals cannot sue streaming companies directly under this law.
Federal lawmakers have attempted to update the CALM Act to include streaming platforms, but two bills introduced in 2023 failed to advance past committee hearings. California’s move could push other states to pass similar legislation or inspire renewed federal efforts.
For now, California viewers will need to wait until mid-2026 for the change to take effect. Until then, the remote control’s volume button remains the only defense against surprisingly loud streaming commercials.
