SB 576 Expands “CALM Act” Protections to Cover Streaming Platforms

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Today, Senator Thomas J. Umberg (D-Santa Ana), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced that Governor Gavin Newsom has signed Senate Bill 576, legislation to ensure that streaming services cannot play commercials louder than the programs viewers are watching. 

“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,” said Governor Newsom. “By signing SB 576, California is dialing down this inconvenience across streaming platforms, which had previously not been subject to commercial volume regulations passed by Congress in 2010.”

“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,” said Senator Umberg. “SB 576 brings some much-needed peace and quiet to California households by making sure streaming ads aren’t louder than the shows we actually want to watch.”

Senate Bill 576 - CALM Act Modernization:

SB 576 updates California law to prevent video streaming services that serve consumers in the state from transmitting commercial advertisement audio at levels louder than the accompanying program content.

While the federal Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act of 2010 regulates the volume of television and cable advertisements, those rules do not apply to streaming platforms such as Hulu, Disney+, and YouTube. As these platforms increasingly rely on ad-supported subscriptions, viewers have been subjected to louder and more frequent commercial volume spikes.

SB 576 closes this gap by extending volume consistency requirements to streaming platforms that serve California consumers, ensuring advertisements remain at a consistent level with regular programming.

This bill was inspired by baby Samantha, the daughter of a member of Senator Umberg’s staff, who was finally put to sleep only to be startled awake by an excessively loud streaming commercial.

###

 Senator Thomas J. Umberg represents the 34th Senate District, which includes the cities of Anaheim, Buena Park, Fullerton, Garden Grove, La Habra, Long Beach, Orange, Placentia, Santa Ana, and East and South Whittier. Umberg is a retired U.S. Army Colonel, former federal prosecutor, and small businessman. He and his wife, Brigadier General Robin Umberg, USA (ret.), live in Orange County.