No more loud commercials: Governor Newsom signs SB 576
SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom has signed SB 576, a new law aimed at curbing those jarring, high-volume commercials that interrupt streaming programs. Authored by Senator Thomas Umberg (D–Santa Ana), the legislation extends existing federal rules on ad volume—originally applied to traditional television—to include streaming platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, and others.
The law builds on the federal Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act of 2010, which prohibited broadcast and cable ads from exceeding the volume of regular programming. With streaming now dominating how Californians consume entertainment, the state is stepping in to ensure the same standards apply to the digital era.
“We heard Californians loud and clear,” said Governor Newsom. “People don’t want to be jolted by ads louder than the shows they’re watching. By signing SB 576, we’re turning down the volume on this annoyance across streaming platforms.”
Senator Umberg said the idea for the bill came from “baby Samantha and every exhausted parent who finally gets a baby to sleep, only to have a blaring streaming ad undo all that hard work.”
“SB 576 brings some much-needed peace and quiet to California households,” he added, “by making sure streaming ads aren’t louder than the shows we actually want to watch.”
For full text of the bill, visit: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.
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