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New California legislation bans loud ads on streaming services.
Commercials can be no louder than the content they accompany.
The law takes effect July 1, 2026
Tired of jump scare ads that blare louder than the content you're watching? Relief is on the way -- at least if you live in California.
If you have trouble hearing dialogue in today's shows (here's how you can help with that), you're probably familiar with the all-too-common occurrence of enduring an ad that's significantly louder than what you were watching.
A law just passed by Gov. Gavin Newsom bans streaming services from playing advertisements at a louder volume than the content they're accompanying. The bill takes effect July 1, 2026, and applies to all streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+.
Also: More than half of people use captions when they watch TV - here's why
California's new law builds on the CALM Act, or Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation. That legislation, passed by Congress more than a decade ago, targeted the same problem, but it only applied to broadcast television and cable operators. A proposed amendment to the CALM Act in 2023 to include streaming services never made it out of the Senate.
State senator Tom Umberg, who authored the bill, said it was inspired by his legislative director's baby daughter, Samantha, and was for "every exhausted parent who's finally gotten a baby to sleep, only to have a blaring streaming ad undo all that hard work."
In a press release about the new law, Gov. Newsom said, "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."
Complaints on the rise
Earlier this year, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) noted a "troubling jump" in complaints about loud TV ads on both traditional programs and streaming content. At the time, the organization said it was going to avoid "specific regulations on streaming providers," even though many of the complaints stemmed from them. The FCC vowed to keep an eye on the situation.
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With California being a huge hub for entertainment, there's hope that the move will lead to broader, even federal legislation to help keep loud ads in line.