California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Mario Tama/Getty Images Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment In an effort to cut down on noise pollution from suddenly blaring advertisements on, say, Netflix or Disney+, California legislators have passed a law to mandate that the noise level of commercials is at the same level as the movie or TV series being streamed. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill, SB 576, that had been shepherded by Senator Thomas Umberg (D-Santa Ana) through the legislative process. It had passed unanimously on the Senate and Assembly floor earlier this month in Sacramento. The passage means that, starting on July 1 of next year, major streaming services won't be able to "transmit the audio of commercial advertisements louder than the video content the advertisements accompany," the bill's text reads. The law asks streaming services to follow the Federal Communications Commission's Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act, which went in to effect in 2012 for linear TV and radio but does not currently apply to streamers. Related Stories News Judge Rules Trump's Use of National Guard During L.A. Immigration Protests Is Illegal News Phony Melania Trump 'Vanity Fair' Cover Dupes Laura Ingraham, Inspires Spoof From Gavin Newsom A bill analysis by legislature committee staff noted that the Motion Picture Association, which lobbies on behalf of Disney, Netflix, Paramount, Amazon MGM Studios, Sony, Universal and Warner Bros. Discovery, had voiced opposition to the effort. "The Motion Picture Association says that since streaming services are working voluntarily to address the issue of loud advertisements, SB 576 is unnecessary," the analysis read. "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." Newsom, on signing the bill on Oct. 6, touted its volume-lowering impact, saying, "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." THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day Subscribe Sign Up music Tech Company Unveils AI-Generated Music Video Hosts siriusxm Andy Cohen Will Interview Howard Stern as SiriusXM Talks Continue OpenAI MPA Chief: OpenAI "Needs to Take Immediate and Decisive Action" to Prevent IP Infringement On Sora SmartLess Jenny Slate, Max Silvestri and Gabe Liedman Launch New Podcast With SiriusXM, SmartLess Media Paramount+ Shannon Buck Joins Paramount as Head of Comms for Direct to Consumer UTA Creator Bailey Sarian Signs With UTA (Exclusive) music Tech Company Unveils AI-Generated Music Video Hosts siriusxm Andy Cohen Will Interview Howard Stern as SiriusXM Talks Continue OpenAI MPA Chief: OpenAI "Needs to Take Immediate and Decisive Action" to Prevent IP Infringement On Sora SmartLess Jenny Slate, Max Silvestri and Gabe Liedman Launch New Podcast With SiriusXM, SmartLess Media Paramount+ Shannon Buck Joins Paramount as Head of Comms for Direct to Consumer UTA Creator Bailey Sarian Signs With UTA (Exclusive)