California Bill Aiming to Quiet Streaming Ads Heads to Governor Newsom
SACRAMENTO, CA – A California bill sparked by a family’s struggle with jarringly loud streaming commercials could set a national precedent for regulating ad volume on platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+. The legislation,unanimously passed by the state Senate and through an Assembly committee,is now awaiting a decision from Governor Gavin Newsom.
The bill addresses a growing frustration among viewers who find streaming ads substantially louder than the content they’re watching – a problem particularly disruptive for young children and those with sensitivities to sound. Rachel and Zach Keller of California experienced this firsthand with their baby, Samantha, who was repeatedly woken by excessively loud commercials.
“A lot of times, we have the volume so low that we just have subtitles running and still, the commercial ad volumes are so ear-piercing that it wakes her up,” Rachel Keller told CBS News.
The Kellers’ experience resonated with many across the country, with numerous complaints surfacing on online forums and in product reviews.Zach Keller, who works for State Senator Bill Umberg, spearheaded the effort to close what they saw as a loophole in the federal CALM Act, which already regulates commercial volume on traditional broadcast television.
“I thought, ‘I’ve got three kids, eight grandchildren. That’s a good idea,'” Senator umberg told CBS News California. “I think it’s one of the most popular bills in the legislature, but it’s not popular with everyone.”
The Motion Picture association (MPA) has actively lobbied against the bill, arguing it could disproportionately harm smaller, autonomous streaming services. The MPA contends that controlling ad volume across diverse streaming sources is impractical.
Senator Umberg dismissed these concerns, stating, “‘Are you kidding?’ That’s my response [to that]. They know which hand I use to basically control the remote. They can basically figure out how to make them within a normal range.”
Neither the streaming services nor the MPA responded to requests for comment.
If signed into law, the commercial volume restrictions woudl take effect on July 1, 2026. The bill’s fate remains uncertain, particularly in light of a recent $2 million donation from Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings to Governor Newsom’s congressional redistricting ballot measure campaign. Newsom’s office has stated it “does not typically comment on pending legislation.”
