Lawmakers offer bill to regulate volume of commercials on streaming services

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) on Tuesday introduced a bill to regulate the volume of commercials shown on streaming platforms.

The bill is known as the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Modernization Act. It would modernize policies regarding ads on streaming services, saying that “the volume of commercials on streaming services cannot be louder than regular programming,” according to Eshoo.

It would also ramp up the Federal Communications Commission’s ability to investigate and enforce violations of the original CALM Act and require a study into its effectiveness.

Eshoo added that since she and Whitehouse created the original CALM Act, streaming service providers have “recreated the problem of loud ads because the old law doesn’t apply to them.”

“Today, we’re updating the legislation for the benefit of consumers who are tired of diving for the mute button at every commercial break,” Eshoo added.  

“New ways to watch TV shouldn’t mean new ways for corporations to blare ads at outrageously high volumes,” Whitehouse said in a statement. “It’s time to update our CALM Act to address the uptick in streaming, and to boost enforcement of existing rules against loud commercials.” 

The bill comes as some outlets have reported that Netflix is considering a lower-priced membership option for a package that includes advertisements. 

Citing a memo sent to employees, The New York Times reported that Netflix was considering adding the membership that includes ads by the end of the year.