Streaming advertising could be a lot quieter this week.
A California law banning streaming services from displaying advertisements ‘louder than the accompanying video content’ is set to go into effect on Wednesday, July 1. (Existing law already imposes similar volume limits on broadcast and cable TV advertising.)
Ars Technica notes that the streaming service did not share additional details about its plans to comply with the law. Currently, the volume limits apply only to California, but the changes are expected to roll out more broadly, especially with a similar bill set to take effect in Illinois next year.
When the law was passed in 2025, its sponsor, state Sen. Thomas Umberg, said it was inspired by “all the exhausted parents who are finally getting to put their baby to sleep and seeing loud streaming ads derail all their efforts.”
Industry groups including the Motion Picture Association of America and the Streaming Innovation Alliance opposed the bill, arguing that streamers are already working to address the issue and noting that it would have to cover a wider range of output devices, including TVs, tablets and phones.
