California has launched a bold legislative assault on the jarring experience of loud commercials that plague streaming platforms, with Governor Gavin Newsom signing SB 576 into law to regulate advertisement volume on major services like Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime.
The legislation, authored by Senator Thomas Umberg, expands the scope of audio regulation beyond the 2010 federal Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act, which had previously applied only to traditional broadcast and cable television.
The new law addresses a significant gap in media regulation that emerged as viewers increasingly shifted to streaming platforms. Under the CALM Act’s limited jurisdiction, streaming services had operated without volume restrictions for advertisements, leading to widespread consumer complaints about disruptive audio spikes during programming breaks.
This regulatory extension aims to create a more consistent viewing experience by ensuring commercials cannot exceed the average volume of the primary content.
Technical compliance with the law will require streaming platforms to implement audio normalization technologies and monitoring systems. Services must measure ad volume relative to main content and adjust accordingly, potentially increasing operational costs across the industry.
Companies failing to comply could face penalties, though specific enforcement mechanisms have not been fully detailed in the legislation.
Parents of young children were identified as particularly strong advocates for the measure, citing instances where loud advertisements disrupted sleeping children. The bill aims to prevent these disruptions during significant moments, especially for exhausted parents with children who have just been put to sleep. Senator Umberg specifically mentioned baby Samantha as inspiration for the bill, highlighting the real-world impact of disruptive commercial volumes on families.
This consumer protection angle proved compelling in the bill’s passage, highlighting how streaming regulation continues to evolve alongside changing media consumption habits.
The California initiative may trigger similar legislation in other states, potentially leading streaming services to adopt quieter advertisements nationwide for operational simplicity.
Industry experts note this represents part of a broader trend where digital policy increasingly addresses modern streaming media challenges that traditional broadcast regulations never anticipated.
The legislation comes at a time when streaming platforms are increasingly focused on targeted advertising to reach specific audience segments, a key component of modern music and content promotion strategies.
For musicians who rely on sync deals to monetize their work, the new volume regulations may actually improve how their licensed music is perceived by viewers when used in streaming advertisements.
