Schumer Takes On Loud Commercials

Senator Schumer, who seems to think that every problem requires a new federal law to fix it, has introduced the "Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act," or CALM Act, of 2009, which would require the Federal Communications Commission to regulate the volume of television advertisements so that they are no louder than the program on which they are appear. Said the soft-spoken senator from New York: "The last thing television watchers want is an advertisement shouting at them every time a TV program takes a commercial break. This legislation will go a long way in protecting TV viewers from disruptive and unnecessarily loud commercials." It's a classic example of relying on the federal government rather than individual responsibility. It's infantilizing in a certain way; Mr. Schumer seems to think that individuals lack the power to turn down the volume, change the channel, or turn off the tube, and instead need government to intervene to protect them. A lot of the products advertised on television (Buicks, certain prescription drugs) seem to be targeted at old people, anyway, so one can understand why the advertisers may want to turn up the volume to reach a potentially hearing-impaired audience. This is another example of America importing regulations from Europe; this article reports that Britain in 2008 began requiring broadcasters to avoid commercials that are "excessively noisy or strident." You'd think this would be an issue where capitalism's self-correcting ability would come into play; companies that air commercials that are "excessively noisy or strident" may find consumers reacting by not purchasing the product that is being advertised. They may stop airing the commercial, or go out of business. Anyway, we look forward to the soft-spoken commercials Mr. Schumer will air in his re-election campaign.