Are ads on Hulu, Netflix, and other streaming services facing a noise ban? What we know as California passes new law

California has recently passed a new law that will put a restriction on loud commercials on popular streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. The bill for the same has been signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on October 6, 2025.

Newsom’s official website shared the details of the law, stating that it was for those commercials whose volumes are louder than the main content being played on any device. Notably, the law has been implemented based on the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act of Congress.

Confirming the arrival of the new law, Newsom said in his statement that California is “dialing down this inconvenience” of the loud commercials.

“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 the program”, Gavin stated.

Senator Thomas Umberg also expressed his happiness by saying that the bill will bring peace to all the houses. Furthermore, he mentioned that the latest initiative is inspired by the lives of every child and the parents who have managed to put their babies to sleep.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the law will be effective from July 1, 2026. The state’s Assembly analysis mentioned that the FCC had received many complaints the same year when Congress launched the act to control loud noise.

The analysis also said that most of the platforms have brought different subscriptions that users need to purchase and avoid commercials. The situation has later taken a new turn, where people have shifted to affordable options due to price hikes on certain occasions.

Tom Umberg opens up on how the idea behind the new law in California was formed

Tom Umberg appeared for an interview with The Hollywood Reporter on October 7, 2025, opening up on a lot of things about the bill. Notably, the solution was established by the experience of his legislative director, Zach Keller, witnessing the impact of loud commercials.

Umberg recalled Zach once told him on the phone that babies are being awakened by the loud noise and that the latter’s daughter, Samantha, also suffered from the same issue. He further stated:

“In the course of the bill’s movement through the legislature, we encountered several things. One, a tremendous amount of popular support because this is something that I think many, many, many Californians know and experience and are irritated by. And the other thing was, is that some of the folks in the entertainment industry opposed the bill saying that it was technologically infeasible.”

Tom said that explaining the latest bill was easier compared to other bills, where he had to elaborate on everything for almost ten seconds. He even referred to the opposition’s claims about technological infeasibility, saying that he is confident about the fact that California’s tech industry will find a solution to keep the volume low.

Meanwhile, the analysis of the bill says that, as per the Motion Picture Association, streaming services have taken steps to adjust the sound that emerges from “server-side ad insertion”, due to which it is inconsistent with the sound of the programs being played.

As of this writing, the streaming platforms have not issued any individual statements from their side about the new law.