Streaming ads could get a lot quieter this week.
A California law prohibiting streaming services from showing ads “louder than the video content” that accompany them goes into effect Wednesday, July 1 (existing law already imposes similar volume restrictions on streaming and cable TV commercials).
Ars Technica Notes that streaming services have not shared additional details about how they plan to comply with the law. While the volume limitations only apply to California for now, it seems likely that any relevant changes will be implemented more broadly, especially with a similar bill will go into effect in Illinois next year.
When the law was approved in 2025Its sponsor, state Sen. Thomas Umberg, said it was inspired by “every exhausted parent who finally got a baby to sleep, only to see a blaring commercial undoing all that hard work.”
Industry groups, including the Motion Picture Association of America and the Streaming Innovation Alliance, opposed the bill, arguing that streamers were already working to address the issue and noting that they have to deal with a variety of output devices, including televisions, tablets and phones.