New Iowa Bill Would Turn the Volume Down on TV Commercials

We've all been there. I was there last night. Watching a movie or a TV show on a streaming service when the obligatory ad break begins and the volume is inexplicably louder than what you're watching. You scramble for the remote just to hit the "mute" button and get some semblance of peace.

Proving that they still have some modicum of relatability to the common person, Iowa lawmakers apparently hate that too. So much so that they want to ban the practice, per an article from The Des Moines Register.

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About Senate Study Bill 3012:

Last week, a three-member Senate subcommittee voted to pass Senate Study Bill 3012, which would make it illegal for streaming services to broadcast commercials at a louder volume than the program during which the ads are playing. Senator Liz Bennett (D-Cedar Rapids) served on the subcommittee, and said she's heard complaints about the practice from many Iowans:

You as a consumer have made a choice about the volume that you want to have something. But that choice is then being taken away deliberately by these very loud advertisements - Senator Liz Bennett, per The Des Moines Register

Federal Law Doesn't Apply to Streaming Services...Yet:

The Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act (CALM Act) is a law on the federal level. Having taken effect in 2012, it requires TV stations, as well as cable and satellite TV to air commercials at the same average volume as the shows of which they are a part. The law does not apply to streaming services, being that the act was passed before their existence, at least as we know them today.

On the state-front, the bill would be enforced by the Iowa Utilities Commission, who could levy fines of $500 per violation. Per The Des Moines Register, a lobbyist for the Iowa Utilities Commission stated she was looking to see how the bill would be enforced.

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As of now, it seems more of an advancing idea than legislation that has a shot at being passed. One can hope. Most of us have gotten pretty good at that. Read more about Senate Study Bill 3012 on The Des Moines Register's website.