Overview

• Senate Bill 576 would extend the 2010 CALM Act’s loudness limits from broadcast TV to online streaming services in California
• The measure won unanimous Senate support in late May, reflecting bipartisan backing for consumer-protection rules
• Entertainment industry groups including the Streaming Innovation Alliance and Motion Picture Association warn that real-time ad delivery makes uniform volume controls technically challenging
• UC Berkeley law professor Tejas Narechania notes that federal courts have upheld California’s right to impose consumer protections on out-of-state content providers
• The bill was inspired by a lawmaker’s anecdote of a staffer’s baby being jolted awake by an overly loud streaming commercial