Governor Gavin Newsom has signed Senate Bill 576, a landmark measure extending federal restrictions on loud television advertisements to streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, and Prime Video.

The legislation, which takes effect July 1, 2026, mandates that commercial audio on streaming platforms remain consistent with the average volume of the programming they interrupt—aiming to eliminate disruptive spikes that have long frustrated viewers.

The new law builds on the 2010 Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act, which curbed excessive ad volumes on broadcast and cable television but left the rapidly growing streaming sector unregulated.

With streaming now a dominant mode of media consumption, the bill addresses a surge in complaints to the Federal Communications Commission—many tied to online video services—after years of relative quiet following the original federal crackdown.

“We heard Californians loud and clear,” Newsom said in his signing statement. “They don’t want commercials louder than the programs they’re watching.”

The bill’s sponsor, Democratic state Senator Thomas Umberg, said the legislation was inspired by a personal experience shared by his legislative director, Zach Keller, whose infant daughter was startled awake by a blaring ad during a late-night stream. “This bill was inspired by baby Samantha and every exhausted parent who finally gets a child to sleep, only to have a streaming ad undo all that hard work,” Umberg noted.

Enforcement will fall under the jurisdiction of the state attorney general, with compliance measured through a standardized algorithm designed to assess and regulate audio levels.

However, the bill faced initial resistance from major industry stakeholders, including the Motion Picture Association and the Streaming Video Alliance—representing companies such as Disney, Netflix, and Amazon.

Industry representatives argued that unlike traditional broadcasters, streaming platforms source ads from a wide array of third-party providers, making uniform volume control technically complex without device-level interventions. 

California, home to many of the world’s leading streaming companies, now takes the lead in regulating digital ad volume.

While the CALM Act significantly reduced complaints in its early years, the proliferation of ad-supported streaming tiers has reversed that trend. FCC data shows a steady rise in grievances, underscoring the urgency of updated regulation.