• California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law limiting advertisement volume on streaming platforms.
• The legislation addresses a rise in complaints about loud commercials interrupting content.
• Inspired by a personal story, the law builds on existing federal regulations for broadcast media.

California has introduced a new law to regulate the volume of advertisements on streaming services, ensuring that they cannot be louder than the content being viewed. Governor Gavin Newsom’s initiative is in response to concerns from parents and frustrated viewers about loud commercials interrupting their watching experience. This legislation, known as Senate Bill 576, is designed to enhance the experience for users of platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, and Prime Video, following complaints that echo similar grievances on traditional media, according to latimes.

The law was motivated by personal circumstances faced by Zach Keller, the legislative director for State Senator Tom Umberg, who shared the challenge of loud ads disrupting his infant daughter's sleep. Umberg remarked, “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,” reflecting the law's intent to address real-life issues faced by families, according to indiatimes and bbc.

This legislation builds upon the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act, which was established in 2010 for broadcast and cable television. However, streaming platforms were not included under the original terms. The new law aims to standardize ad volume across various platforms, in light of the significant shift in viewership habits towards streaming, as emphasized by Newsom’s declaration that Californians “don’t want commercials at a volume any louder than the level at which they were previously enjoying a program,” according to latimes and bbc.