California Governor Bans Loud Ads, Commercials on Streaming Platforms Starting Next Year

California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a new law that will ban loud advertisements and commercials that appear on streaming platforms, with the legislation taking effect next year.

California Gov Bans Loud Ads, Commercials on Streaming

California governor Gavin Newsom wants to "turn down the volume" on loud ads and commercials that appear within streamed content on different platforms, according to his latest post via X. Newsom also revealed that he has recently signed the legislation into law, and this will mandate all streaming platforms and advertisement companies to minimize the noise ads bring to users.

The new legislation is also detailed in the latest release via the California Governor's website, which states that they are adopting a "no more loud commercials" policy on streaming platforms. Newsom claims that streaming platform ads have been left unchecked since they started introducing commercials for lower tiers, unlike the regulations that apply with broadcast television.

According to Engadget, Newsom was referring to the 15-year-old law passed by Congress in 2010 called "CALM" or the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act. While this has mandated all commercials on broadcast content to avoid being louder than the show itself, the law does not cover the streaming industry's audio for ads or commercial placements.

Stream Without Worries in California Starting 2026

There are significant inconveniences that louder ads or commercials bring to users. Not only are users affected by the loud ads playing, but they could also disturb neighbors and the community when these unexpected commercials run.

Many streaming platforms rely on ads and commercials to offer a more affordable tier for users who choose not to pay high amounts for ad-free streaming. Ad-supported streaming is a popular option on platforms like Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and HBO Max to save on subscription fees but still get the same content as Premium users.

While Newsom claims that this would be applied to streaming platforms, it remains unknown if Spotify would be subjected to this legislation as they have a Free tier, which is known for inserting ads in between music streams.