House File 2260 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 2260 BY CROKEN , MADISON , KURTH , and AMOS JR. A BILL FOR An Act relating to the audio volume level of commercial 1 advertisements provided by a video streaming service, and 2 providing penalties. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 5203YH (3) 91 sb/js

H.F. 2260 Section 1. Section 474.1, subsection 4, Code 2026, is 1 amended to read as follows: 2 4. As used in this chapter and chapters 475A , 476 , 476A , 3 477A, 477B, 477C , 478 , 479 , 479A , and 479B , “commission” and 4 “utilities commission” mean the Iowa utilities commission. 5 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 477B.1 Video streaming services —— 6 audio volume level of commercials. 7 1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context 8 otherwise requires: 9 a. “Commercial advertisement” means any paid message 10 or promotional content for a product, service, or brand 11 transmitted during a video streaming service in connection with 12 video programming or video content. 13 b. “Consumer-generated media” means content, including 14 video, audio, and multimedia, created and made available by 15 consumers to internet sites or services on the internet. 16 c. “Video programming” means programming by, or generally 17 considered comparable to programming provided by, a television 18 broadcast station. “Video programming” does not include 19 consumer-generated media. 20 d. (1) “Video streaming service” means an entity that makes 21 available directly to the consumer, through a distribution 22 method that uses internet protocol, any of the following: 23 (a) Video programming. 24 (b) Video content. 25 (2) “Video streaming service” does not include a television 26 broadcast station, cable operator, or other multichannel video 27 programming distributor, or an entity that provides video 28 programming or video content without commercial advertisements. 29 2. Advertisement volume level. On and after July 1, 2026, 30 a video streaming service that serves a consumer residing in 31 this state shall not transmit to the consumer a commercial 32 advertisement at a higher average audio volume level than the 33 average audio volume level of the video programming or video 34 content the advertisement accompanies. 35 -1- LSB 5203YH (3) 91 sb/js 1/ 3

H.F. 2260 3. Federal compliance. Subsection 2 shall be enforced 1 consistent with federal communications commission regulations 2 under the federal Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation 3 Act, Pub. L. No. 111-311. 4 4. Enforcement —— penalties. 5 a. If the commission has reasonable belief that a video 6 streaming service is in violation of subsection 2, the 7 commission shall have the sole authority to bring a civil 8 action to provide for all of the following: 9 (1) Enjoin further violations by the video streaming 10 service. 11 (2) Enforce compliance with this chapter. 12 (3) Seek civil penalties in an amount of not more than 13 five hundred dollars for each violation of this section. For 14 purposes of this subsection, each day a violation of subsection 15 2 occurs shall be a separate violation. 16 b. If the commission notifies a video streaming service of 17 complaints in violation of this section, the video streaming 18 service may demonstrate compliance by doing any of the 19 following: 20 (1) Providing evidence of actual compliance with this 21 section. 22 (2) Providing evidence of ongoing compliance with the 23 most recently published recommended practices provided by the 24 advanced television systems committee. 25 5. Private right of action. This section shall not be 26 construed to create a private right of action. 27 EXPLANATION 28 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 29 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 30 This bill relates to the audio volume level of commercial 31 advertisements provided by a video streaming service. 32 Under the bill, on and after July 1, 2026, a video streaming 33 service that serves a consumer residing in Iowa shall not 34 transmit to such consumer a commercial advertisement with a 35 -2- LSB 5203YH (3) 91 sb/js 2/ 3

H.F. 2260 higher average audio volume level that is louder than the 1 average audio volume level of the video programming or video 2 content that the commercial advertisement accompanies. 3 The bill defines “video streaming service” as an entity 4 that makes available directly to a consumer, through a 5 distribution method using internet protocol, video programming 6 or video content. “Video streaming service” does not include 7 a television broadcast station, cable operator, or other 8 multichannel video programming distributor, or an entity that 9 provides commercial-free video programming or video content. 10 “Video programming” is defined in the bill, and does not 11 include “consumer-generated media”, as that term is defined in 12 the bill. 13 The bill shall be enforced consistent with federal 14 communications commission regulations regarding the federal 15 Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act. 16 If the utilities commission (commission) has reasonable 17 belief that a video streaming service violated or is violating 18 the bill, the commission may bring civil action to enjoin 19 further violations, enforce compliance with the bill, and seek 20 civil penalties in an amount of not more than $500 for each 21 violation. Each day that a video streaming service is in 22 violation of the bill is a separate violation. 23 When the commission notifies a video streaming service 24 of complaints in violation of the bill, the video streaming 25 service may show compliance by demonstrating actual compliance 26 with the bill, or by showing ongoing compliance with the most 27 recently published recommended practices provided by the 28 advanced television systems committee. 29 The bill shall not be construed to create a private right of 30 action. 31 -3- LSB 5203YH (3) 91 sb/js 3/ 3