"Finally some peace for our eardrums" - Internet reacts to California banning streaming services from increasing volume during commercials

California has banned streaming services from increasing their volume during commercials. The new legislation mandates services such as Netflix and Disney+ to maintain their noise levels during commercials to the same level as the media being streamed by the user.

On October 6, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the new bill, SB 576, which states that streaming services will not be allowed to "transmit the audio of commercial advertisements louder than the video content the advertisements accompany" starting July 1, 2026. Senator Thomas Umberg shepherded the bill, which was then passed unanimously by the Senate and the Assembly earlier this month.

Moreover, the bill also asks these streaming services to follow the 2012 Federal Communications Commission’s Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act. While this law currently doesn't apply to streamers, the FCC over 13,000 complaints, which mostly "concerned the excessively loud sound of commercials."

Fans took to X to react to California's new legislation, with many being happy with the new development. One X user wrote:

"Finally some peace for our eardrums…no more getting jump-scared by a shampoo ad mid binge."

Some other similar reactions were as follows:

Fans continued to share their thoughts on how this new law could change their viewing experience:

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California Governor Gavin Newsom comments on new bill banning streaming services from increasing volume during commercials

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After signing the new bill on October 6, California Governor Gavin Newsom made an official statement on the new piece of legislation. He 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."

The Assembly briefing from the state also commented on how certain subscription models made users pay more to avoid commercial viewing. These price hikes from streaming services have often led users to opt for other cheaper alternatives, which include commercials. This legislation allows them to have a usual viewing experience without streaming services increasing the volume during these commercials. It said:

"Many platforms have introduced tiered subscription models that require consumers to pay a premium to avoid commercials, bringing ad-supported viewing and the loudness of those ads, back into focus for millions of users."

Meanwhile, the Motion Picture Association, which represents multiple big production houses and streaming services, including Disney, Sony Universal, Warner Bros, Paramount, and Netflix, have opposed the bill. Their statement considered the bill "unnecessary" and added:

"The Motion Picture Association says that since streaming services are working voluntarily to address the issue of loud advertisements, SB 576 is unnecessary. They note that many streaming services have undertaken reasonable efforts to adjust the loudness of advertisements that come from server-side ad insertion that may be inconsistent with the loudness of the programs."

The new bill is only an additional effort over the CALM Act, which has been in effect since 2010, forcing television broadcasters not to increase the audio levels during commercials.

Senator Umberg, who spearheaded the law, explained in an official statement that it came into being due to his own experience with his child, 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." Umberg added that the bill is designed to bring "some much-needed peace and quiet" in California.

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The new law will be in effect from July 1, 2026.

Edited by Pratyasha Sarkar