[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2422 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2422
To amend the CALM Act to include video streaming services, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 30, 2023
Ms. Eshoo (for herself, Ms. Castor of Florida, and Mr. David Scott of
Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the CALM Act to include video streaming services, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Commercial Advertisement Loudness
Mitigation Modernization Act of 2023'' or the ``CALM Modernization Act
of 2023''.
SEC. 2. MODERNIZATION OF THE CALM ACT AND RULEMAKING ON LOUD
COMMERCIALS ON STREAMING VIDEO.
(a) Amendments.--The CALM Act (Public Law 111-311; 124 Stat. 3294)
is amended--
(1) in section 2 (47 U.S.C. 621)--
(A) by striking ``Federal Communications
Commission'' each place the term appears and inserting
``Commission'';
(B) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the
following:
``(c) Compliance.--
``(1) Rebuttable presumption.--There is a rebuttable
presumption that any television broadcast station, cable
operator, or other multichannel video programming distributor
that installs, uses, and maintains in a commercially reasonable
manner the equipment and associated software in compliance with
the regulations issued by the Commission in accordance with
subsection (a) is in compliance with those regulations.
``(2) Factors to determine rebuttal.--In determining
whether the presumption of compliance under paragraph (1) has
been rebutted with respect to a television broadcast station,
cable operator, or other multichannel video programming
distributor, the Commission shall consider the following:
``(A) The number of complaints regarding loud
commercials the Commission has received with respect to
that station, operator, or other distributor.
``(B) Substantive patterns or trends from
complaints on loud commercials the Commission has
received.
``(C) Data and conclusions in any report issued by
a Federal agency (including the Government
Accountability Office) regarding the effectiveness of
this Act in moderating the loudness of commercials in
comparison with accompanying video programming.
``(D) Any other factor established by the
Commission by regulation.''; and
(C) in subsection (d)--
(i) by redesignating paragraph (1) as
paragraph (3) and moving it to appear after
paragraph (2);
(ii) in paragraph (3), as so redesignated,
by striking ``; and'' at the end and inserting
a period;
(iii) by redesignating paragraph (2) as
paragraph (1);
(iv) in paragraph (1), as so redesignated--
(I) by striking ``multi-channel''
and inserting ``multichannel''; and
(II) by striking the period at the
end and inserting a semicolon; and
(v) by inserting after paragraph (1), as so
redesignated, the following:
``(2) the term `Commission' means the Federal
Communications Commission; and''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 3. RULEMAKING ON LOUD COMMERCIALS ON STREAMING VIDEO.
``(a) Rulemaking Required for Loud Streaming Video Commercials.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this section, the Commission shall prescribe
pursuant to the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et
seq.) a regulation that prohibits video streaming services from
transmitting the audio of commercial advertisements louder than
the video content the advertisements accompany in a manner that
is similar in effect to the regulation prescribed under section
2.
``(2) Rebuttable presumption.--In prescribing the
regulation under paragraph (1), the Commission may include a
rebuttable presumption provision that is similar to the
rebuttable presumption under section 2(c) if it is practicable
and warranted for effective enforcement of this section.
``(3) Effective date.--Except as provided in paragraph (4),
the regulation required under paragraph (1) shall take effect
180 days after the date on which the regulation is published in
the Federal Register.
``(4) Extension of effective date.--The Commission may
extend the effective date described in paragraph (3) for 1 year
for any video streaming service that demonstrates that
complying with the regulation would result in significant
financial hardship.
``(5) Updates.--The Commission shall update the regulation
prescribed under paragraph (1) as necessary.
``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Commission.--The term `Commission' means the Federal
Communications Commission.
``(2) Video programming.--The term `video programming' has
the meaning given the term in section 713(h) of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 613(h)).
``(3) Video streaming service.--The term `video streaming
service'--
``(A) means an entity that makes available directly
to the end user through a distribution method that uses
internet protocol--
``(i) video programming; or
``(ii) video content the entity makes
available for users to view; and
``(B) does not include--
``(i) a television broadcast station, cable
operator, or other multichannel video
programming distributor (as those terms are
defined in section 2(d)), only with respect to
commercial advertisements and video programming
subject to section 2; or
``(ii) an entity that serves video
programming or video content that is served
without video commercial advertisements.
``SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT.
``(a) In General.--The Federal Communications Commission shall
implement and enforce this Act as if this Act were a part of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.).
``(b) Violations.--A violation of this Act, or a regulation
promulgated under this Act, shall be considered to be a violation of
the Communications Act of 1934, or a regulation promulgated under that
Act, respectively.
``(c) No Citation Required.--Paragraph (5) of section 503(b) of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 503(b)) shall not apply to a
determination of forfeiture liability under that subsection against a
person who commits a violation described in subsection (b) of this
section.''.
(b) GAO Report on CALM Act Enforcement.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United
States shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and
Commerce of the House of Representatives a report on section 2
of the CALM Act (47 U.S.C. 621), as amended by subsection (a),
that--
(A) analyzes the effectiveness of that section in
moderating the loudness of commercials in comparison to
accompanying video programming;
(B) evaluates the ability of the Federal
Communications Commission to effectively moderate the
loudness of commercials in comparison to accompanying
video programming under subsection (c) of that section;
and
(C) as appropriate, recommends policy solutions
that would enable better moderation of the loudness of
commercials in comparison to accompanying video
programming.
(2) Video programming defined.--In this subsection, the
term ``video programming'' has the meaning given the term in
section 713(h) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
613(h)).
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