California, U.S, has enacted a new law to silence excessively loud television advertisement s.
The state Governor, Gavin Newsom, signed Senate Bill 576 (SB 576), on Monday, October 6, 2025, which specifically targets the jarring volume spikes often heard during ad breaks on popular streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime.
For years, viewers across the United States have complained about advertisements being significantly louder than the programs they interrupt. This led to the frustrating scenario of suddenly having to "scrabble for the remote" to lower a blaring commercial.
The new state law mandates that commercials cannot be any louder than the content they interrupt. This extends the existing volume regulations—which have applied to traditional broadcast and cable television since the federal Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act of 2010—to cover streaming services for the first time.
"We heard Californians loud and clear," Governor Newsom stated after signing the bill. "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."
The legislation was reportedly inspired by a legislative aide whose newborn baby was repeatedly woken by loud streaming advertisements.
Because many major streaming companies are based in California, this state law is anticipated to set a national standard, potentially leading to quieter commercial volumes nationwide. The commercial volume restrictions for streaming services are set to go into effect on July 1, 2026.
The state Governor, Gavin Newsom, signed Senate Bill 576 (SB 576), on Monday, October 6, 2025, which specifically targets the jarring volume spikes often heard during ad breaks on popular streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime.
For years, viewers across the United States have complained about advertisements being significantly louder than the programs they interrupt. This led to the frustrating scenario of suddenly having to "scrabble for the remote" to lower a blaring commercial.
The new state law mandates that commercials cannot be any louder than the content they interrupt. This extends the existing volume regulations—which have applied to traditional broadcast and cable television since the federal Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act of 2010—to cover streaming services for the first time.
"We heard Californians loud and clear," Governor Newsom stated after signing the bill. "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."
The legislation was reportedly inspired by a legislative aide whose newborn baby was repeatedly woken by loud streaming advertisements.
Because many major streaming companies are based in California, this state law is anticipated to set a national standard, potentially leading to quieter commercial volumes nationwide. The commercial volume restrictions for streaming services are set to go into effect on July 1, 2026.
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