Assembly committee approves SB 576 to limit loud streaming ads; opposition urges industry standards

The committee voted to pass SB 576, dubbed the California "CALM" Act for streaming, after Sen. Tom Umberg described the bill’s genesis: a family whose infant was wakened by an advertisement louder than the program audio.

Umberg told the committee the bill would make streaming ads subject to the same loudness standards that govern broadcast television, saying broadcasters already must comply with federal rules and streaming services should be held to comparable standards.

Melissa Ptak, representing the Motion Picture Association and the Streaming Innovation Alliance, testified in opposition. Ptak said the bill ‘‘seeks to incorporate federal regulations … and apply that same standard to streaming services,’’ but that streaming advertising is inserted dynamically in real time by multiple third‑party ad networks and exchanges. She said platforms and ad intermediaries currently rely on best practices developed by industry groups like the Audio Engineering Society and the Interactive Advertising Bureau, and urged the committee to reject the bill while offering to work on a standards-based alternative.

Umberg said he had discussed draft language with industry and emphasized that the bill aims at consumer protection: ‘‘You can’t boost those ads like you are doing today,’’ he said, asking members to approve the measure.

The committee passed the bill (motion carried) and the clerk recorded an 8-0 vote.

The bill now moves to the next committee for scheduling; proponents and trade groups said they would continue technical discussions about how to make loudness controls workable for dynamically inserted advertising.