Streaming services must keep ad-free subscriptions ad-free for one year.
H.R. 10696 — Ad-Free Means Ad-Free Act · Filed by Josh Riley (D-NY) · Introduced Oct 1, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
The bill tells the Federal Trade Commission to write rules. These rules stop streaming services from selling ad-free subscriptions. Then they cannot add ads to those subscriptions within one year. The rule covers subscriptions sold through other companies too. If a service breaks this rule, the FTC can take action.
Who it affects
People who buy ad-free subscriptions are protected from having ads added within one year. Streaming services must follow the new rules.
One thing to notice
The rule protects subscribers for one year or the length of the contract, whichever is longer. After that time ends, the rule no longer applies.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
- Oct 1, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Oct 1, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- Federal Trade Commission — The government agency that stops unfair business practices.
- ad-free subscriptions — A paid plan for a streaming service with no advertisements.
- streaming services — Companies that let people watch movies and shows online for a fee.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (2,435 characters) on Oct 3, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Streaming services must keep ad-free subscriptions ad-free for one year.” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr10696/simple Report an error
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