Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a new California law requiring video streaming services to follow the same commercial loudness standards long applied to broadcast television under federal law. The law, Senate Bill No. 576, directs streaming platforms to ensure that the audio of commercial advertisements is consistent with the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act, or CALM Act, which prohibits commercials on public airwaves from being louder than the programs they accompany.
Federal regulations extend to streaming
Under the federal CALM Act, enforced by the Federal Communications Commission, broadcasters must maintain commercials at the same average volume as the program being interrupted. California’s new legislation modernizes this regulation, extending it to streaming platforms such as Netflix, Disney+, Paramount+ and Amazon Prime Video.
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While the law technically applies only to commercials streamed within California, some news outlets reported it may prompt streaming services to adopt nationwide compliance to simplify operations. Politico reported that the law could effectively “strong-arm streamers into shushing commercials nationwide.”
Reason behind California bill
The bill’s author, State Sen. Tom Umberg, a Democrat, said the legislation was inspired by families directly affected by excessively loud streaming ads. He says he was inspired by his legislative director, who complained to him about loud streaming commercials waking his infant child, Samantha.
“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,” Umberg said in a press release.
Newsom added, “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.”
How will this be enforced?
Initially, major streaming industry groups — including the Motion Picture Association and the Streaming Innovators Alliance, which represent leading platforms such as Netflix, Disney, Paramount and Amazon — opposed the law, citing ongoing internal efforts to address loudness issues.
However, they withdrew their opposition after it was clarified that these streaming companies cannot be sued directly under the law.
Instead, complaints will be directed to the state attorney general’s office, which will decide whether to investigate or escalate enforcement.
On a federal level, the CALM Act has faced limited federal enforcement. According to a 2021 legal review by the Virginia Association of Broadcasters, nine years after the CALM Act went into effect, the regulation has never resulted in repercussions.
“The FCC has never brought a CALM Act enforcement action despite receiving well over 1,000 complaints per year since 2012,” the report noted.
Streaming services will have until July 2026 to fully comply with the new California loudness standards.
