Senate Study Bill 3012 - Introduced SENATE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON TECHNOLOGY BILL BY CHAIRPERSON McCLINTOCK) A BILL FOR An Act relating to the audio volume 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 5204XC (3) 91 sb/js

S.F. _____ 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 of commercials. 7 1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context 8 otherwise requires: 9 a. “Consumer-generated media” means content, including 10 video, audio, and multimedia, created and made available by 11 consumers to internet sites or services on the internet. 12 b. “Video programming” means programming by, or generally 13 considered comparable to programming provided by, a television 14 broadcast station. “Video programming” does not include 15 consumer-generated media. 16 c. (1) “Video streaming service” means an entity that makes 17 available directly to the consumer, through a distribution 18 method that uses internet protocol, any of the following: 19 (a) Video programming. 20 (b) Video content. 21 (2) “Video streaming service” does not include a television 22 broadcast station, cable operator, or other multichannel video 23 programming distributor, or an entity that provides video 24 programming or video content without commercial advertisements. 25 2. Advertisement volume. On and after July 1, 2026, a video 26 streaming service that serves a consumer residing in this state 27 shall not transmit to the consumer a commercial advertisement 28 at an audio volume louder than the audio volume of the video 29 programming or video content the advertisement accompanies. 30 3. Federal compliance. Subsection 2 shall be enforced 31 consistent with federal communications commission regulations 32 under the federal Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation 33 Act, Pub. L. No. 111-311. 34 4. Enforcement —— penalties. 35 -1- LSB 5204XC (3) 91 sb/js 1/ 3

S.F. _____ a. If the commission has reasonable belief that a video 1 streaming service is in violation of subsection 2, the 2 commission shall have the sole authority to bring a civil 3 action to provide for all of the following: 4 (1) Enjoin further violations by the video streaming 5 service. 6 (2) Enforce compliance with this chapter. 7 (3) Seek civil penalties in an amount of not more than 8 five hundred dollars for each violation of this section. For 9 purposes of this subsection, each day a violation of subsection 10 2 occurs shall be a separate violation. 11 b. If the commission notifies a video streaming service of 12 complaints in violation of this section, the video streaming 13 service may demonstrate compliance by doing any of the 14 following: 15 (1) Providing evidence of actual compliance with this 16 section. 17 (2) Providing evidence of ongoing compliance with the 18 most recently published recommended practices provided by the 19 advanced television systems committee. 20 5. Private right of action. This section shall not be 21 construed to create a private right of action. 22 EXPLANATION 23 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 24 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 25 This bill relates to the audio volume of commercial 26 advertisements provided by a video streaming service. 27 Under the bill, on and after July 1, 2026, a video streaming 28 service that serves a consumer residing in Iowa shall not 29 transmit to such consumer a commercial advertisement with an 30 audio volume that is louder than the audio volume of the video 31 programming or video content that the commercial advertisement 32 accompanies. 33 The bill defines “video streaming service” as an entity 34 that makes available directly to a consumer, through a 35 -2- LSB 5204XC (3) 91 sb/js 2/ 3

S.F. _____ distribution method using internet protocol, video programming 1 or video content. “Video streaming service” does not include 2 a television broadcast station, cable operator, or other 3 multichannel video programming distributor, or an entity that 4 provides commercial-free video programming or video content. 5 “Video programming” is defined in the bill, and does not 6 include “consumer-generated media”, as that term is defined in 7 the bill. 8 The bill shall be enforced consistent with federal 9 communications commission regulations regarding the federal 10 Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act. 11 If the utilities commission (commission) has reasonable 12 belief that a video streaming service violated or is violating 13 the bill, the commission may bring civil action to enjoin 14 further violations, enforce compliance with the bill, and seek 15 civil penalties in an amount of not more than $500 for each 16 violation. Each day that a video streaming service is in 17 violation of the bill is a separate violation. 18 When the commission notifies a video streaming service 19 of complaints in violation of the bill, the video streaming 20 service may show compliance by demonstrating actual compliance 21 with the bill, or by showing ongoing compliance with the most 22 recently published recommended practices provided by the 23 advanced television systems committee. 24 The bill shall not be construed to create a private right of 25 action. 26 -3- LSB 5204XC (3) 91 sb/js 3/ 3