Tennessee ELVIS Act (Ensuring Likeness, Voice, and Image Security)
Effective date
Penalty
Civil remedies: injunctive relief, actual damages, statutory damages, costs, and attorney's fees. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION available. Criminal penalties: Clas…
Obligations mapped
Tracked
Overview
First enacted US legislation specifically designed to protect musicians from unauthorized AI voice synthesis. Covers any individual's voice, image, or likeness. Uniquely targets tool providers (developers of synthesis tools), not just end users. Expands Tennessee's right of publicity to cover unauthorized synthetic replicas and includes a fair use exemption that specifically incorporates voice replicas.
This is an AI-specific state law.
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Who this applies to
This regulation applies to the following roles:
- Developers of covered AI systems
- Deployers and users of covered AI systems
- Organizations operating in Tennessee
This regulation applies to both companies that build AI products and companies that use AI tools from other vendors.
See enrolled statute text at the official source.
AI categories covered
- Consumer-facing AI
- General purpose AI
Specific AI use cases:
- Content generation
- voice synthesis
- synthetic media manipulation
- voice likeness synthesis
- political synthetic media
What this requires you to do
Detailed obligation packs are not yet mapped for this entry in XIRA. Obligation areas from the catalog are listed below.
What this requires you to do
Consent required
Obtain consent. Get explicit permission from individuals before collecting or using their data with AI.
Record-keeping required
Maintain records. Keep documentation of your AI systems, decisions made, and compliance activities.
Regulation summaries are simplified for readability and may not capture every nuance of the underlying statute. Verify important details against primary sources linked on this page.
Enforcement and penalties
Civil remedies: injunctive relief, actual damages, statutory damages, costs, and attorney's fees. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION available. Criminal penalties: Class A misdemeanor (up to 11 months 29 days imprisonment). Treble damages for knowing use of unauthorized voice replicas. Treble damages plus attorney's fees for unauthorized replicas of armed forces members. Tool provider liability: law targets anyone who makes available an algorithm, software, tool, or other technology with the primary purpose of creating unauthorized replicas.
Private right of action: plaintiffs may bring direct claims in addition to government enforcement.
Penalty amounts are based on statutory text and may be subject to adjustment, judicial interpretation, or enforcement discretion.
Related regulations
- In EffectAI-Specific
Illinois Right of Publicity Act, Digital Replica Amendment (HB 4875)
Prohibits unauthorized AI-generated digital replicas of individual voices, images, and likenesses. Holds liable anyone who distributes, transmits, or materially contributes to violations. Not contingent on commercial purpose.
Effective
- In EffectAI-Specific
New York Deceased Performer Digital Replicas (SB 8391)
Amends the Right of Publicity law to protect digital replicas of deceased performers. Provides civil remedies for unauthorized AI-generated replicas of deceased individuals for commercial purposes.
Effective
- In EffectAI-Specific
Utah Unauthorized AI Impersonation (SB 271)
Expands Utah's abuse of personal identity law to cover AI-generated deepfakes and digital replicas used for commercial purposes without consent. Prohibits distributing software primarily designed for unauthorized commercial impersonation. Covers AI-generated simulations of voice, video likeness, and audiovisual appearance. Not limited to deepfakes: it covers commercial misuse of personal identity including non-AI methods. First Amendment exemptions for newsworthiness, artistic expression, and parody. The software distribution prohibition targets nudification apps and similar tools.
Effective
- In EffectPrivacy ADM
Tennessee Information Protection Act - Profiling Provisions
Grants Tennessee consumers the right to opt out of profiling for decisions with legal or significant effects. First state to provide a NIST affirmative defense: controllers and processors that create, maintain, and comply with a written privacy program that reasonably conforms to the NIST Privacy Framework may assert an affirmative defense. This materially reduces compliance risk for NIST-aligned organizations. Applies to businesses with annual revenue exceeding $25 million that also meet consumer data volume thresholds (175,000 consumers, or 25,000 consumers with 50%+ revenue from data sales). Among the highest applicability thresholds of any state privacy law.
Effective
Tennessee AI regulation guide lists every tracked rule for this jurisdiction with timelines and obligation tallies.
Regulation summaries are simplified for readability and may not capture every nuance of the underlying statute. Verify important details against primary sources linked on this page.