Tennessee AI Laws and Regulation (2026)

Tennessee regulates AI through targeted laws rather than a single comprehensive statute. The cornerstone is the ELVIS Act, codified at TCA Title 47, Chapter 25, which took effect July 1, 2024 and gives individuals a private right of action against unauthorized AI cloning of their voice or likeness.

Overview of Tennessee AI Laws

Tennessee has taken a targeted approach to artificial intelligence regulation, focusing on areas where AI poses immediate risks rather than enacting a single comprehensive AI statute. The state made national headlines in 2024 by becoming the first in the country to pass legislation specifically addressing AI's impact on the music industry, reflecting Nashville's outsized role in American music.

Tennessee's enacted AI laws center on protecting creative professionals' voices and likenesses from unauthorized AI use, joined in 2025 by the Preventing Deepfake Images Act (Public Chapter 466) and in 2026 by a disclaimer requirement for deceptive political deepfakes (Public Chapter 625), a bar on AI systems holding themselves out as qualified mental health professionals (Public Chapter 647), and a TACIR study of chatbot safety (Public Chapter 1082, the pared-back CHAT Act).

The Tennessee AI Advisory Council, created by statute at TCA Section 4-3-3105, provides an additional layer of AI governance by guiding responsible AI adoption across state agencies. Tennessee's regulatory philosophy balances support for innovation with targeted protections where AI creates demonstrable harm.

This article covers all enacted and pending Tennessee AI legislation, executive actions, and regulatory developments. This information is current as of September 2026, but you should consult a licensed Tennessee attorney for advice specific to your situation.

The ELVIS Act: Protecting Creative Professionals from AI

The Ensuring Likeness, Voice, and Image Security (ELVIS) Act is Tennessee's landmark AI legislation and the most significant AI-related law the state has enacted. Governor Bill Lee signed the ELVIS Act into law on March 21, 2024, with an effective date of July 1, 2024.

What the ELVIS Act Does

The ELVIS Act updates Tennessee's Protection of Personal Rights law (formerly the Personal Rights Protection Act of 1984) by adding "voice" to the list of protected personal attributes. Under the amended TCA Title 47, Chapter 25, individuals now have an enforceable property right in their name, photograph, voice, and likeness.

The law creates a private right of action against anyone who distributes, transmits, or otherwise makes available an algorithm, software, tool, or other technology whose primary purpose is producing an individual's photograph, voice, or likeness without that person's authorization.

Tennessee was the first state in the nation to enact legislation specifically protecting musicians from AI-generated audio that mimics their singing voices. The bill passed both chambers unanimously, with 93-0 in the House and 30-0 in the Senate.

Who Is Protected

The ELVIS Act protects any individual whose voice, photograph, name, or likeness is used without consent. While the law was motivated by concerns in the music industry, its protections extend to all Tennessee residents and any person whose rights are violated through conduct occurring in Tennessee.

The law is particularly relevant for:

• Musicians and recording artists targeted by AI voice cloning
• Actors and performers whose likenesses are replicated by generative AI
• Public figures and private citizens whose images appear in AI-generated content
• Estates of deceased individuals, as Tennessee's personal rights protections survive death

Legal Remedies

The remedies are set out at TCA Section 47-25-1106. A court may grant injunctions to prevent or restrain the unauthorized use, authorize confiscation of unauthorized items and seizure of the instrumentalities used in the violation, order materials impounded while the case is pending, and order their destruction as part of a final judgment. An individual is entitled to recover the actual damages suffered as a result of the knowing use or infringement, plus any profits attributable to that use that are not already reflected in the actual damages. Those remedies are cumulative and are in addition to any others provided by law.

Attorney fees are the exception rather than the rule. Section 47-25-1106(d)(2) awards treble damages plus reasonable attorney fees only where a person knowingly uses or infringes the rights of a member of the armed forces. An ordinary ELVIS Act plaintiff bears their own fees. Public Chapter 588 also added subsection (f), which lets a party holding a contract for an individual's exclusive personal services as a recording artist, or an exclusive license to distribute the recordings capturing that individual's performances, bring the enforcement action alongside the individual.

The ELVIS Act targets not only those who create unauthorized AI-generated content but also the providers of AI tools whose primary purpose is generating such content. This distinction makes Tennessee's law broader than many deepfake statutes in other states, which typically only target the end users who create or distribute unauthorized content.

The CHAT Act: What Actually Became Law

The Curbing Harmful AI Technology (CHAT) Act was introduced as a companion package: HB 1946 in the House and SB 1700 in the Senate. As originally filed, it would have created Class A felony liability for developers who knowingly train AI models to engage in specified harmful behaviors, including training an AI system to encourage suicide, support or facilitate criminal homicide, develop an emotional relationship with an individual, provide emotional support through conversations, simulate a human being in appearance, voice, or mannerisms, or impersonate a human being. Those offenses would have carried 15 to 25 year sentences, and the bill would also have allowed civil actions for actual damages, emotional distress, liquidated damages of $150,000, and punitive damages.

The Enacted Law Is a Study, Not a Statute

SB 1700 passed the General Assembly and was signed by Governor Bill Lee on May 27, 2026, as Public Chapter 1082, and took effect upon becoming law. Before passage, every felony provision, sentence range, and civil-damages remedy was stripped out. The enacted law contains none of the criminal penalties described above. Instead, it directs the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) to study potential regulation of AI systems and chatbots, covering constitutional considerations, fiscal and economic impacts, and safeguards for minors and mental health, and to report findings and recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly. Tennessee currently has no chatbot-training felony statute; the CHAT Act's proposed criminal and civil-liability framework never became law.

SB 2171: Frontier AI Safety Requirements

Senate Bill 2171 takes a different approach to AI regulation by targeting the largest AI companies rather than specific uses of AI technology. The bill focuses on "frontier" AI models and chatbots that are most likely to be used by minors.

Safety Plan Requirements

Under SB 2171, covered AI companies would be required to write, implement, and publicly post both public safety plans and child safety plans. These plans must explain how companies identify, assess, and mitigate catastrophic risks and child safety risks associated with their AI systems.

Companies would need to bring in third-party evaluators for key safety assessments and revisit their plans on a set schedule. While companies could redact portions of the public versions to protect trade secrets, cybersecurity, or national security interests, they must justify those redactions and keep unredacted copies on file.

Child Protection Focus

The bill's sponsors have emphasized that the legislation aims to ensure AI companies are transparent about how they evaluate danger and what steps they will take if a system steers a young user toward self-harm or other serious harm.

SB 2171 adds Tennessee's own set of obligations to the state's growing AI framework. The bill's child safety plan requirements and incident reporting obligations are specifically tailored to chatbot operators above defined revenue and user thresholds.

Federal Preemption Concerns

SB 2171 faces potential challenges from the federal government. On December 11, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Attorney General to establish an AI Litigation Task Force to challenge state AI laws. The task force could target SB 2171's requirements as unconstitutional burdens on interstate commerce. However, the executive order includes exemptions for child safety protections, which may shield significant portions of SB 2171 from federal challenge.

Deepfake Laws and Election Integrity

Tennessee reaches AI-generated deepfakes through three enacted laws: the ELVIS Act, the Preventing Deepfake Images Act, and the Transparency for Deepfakes in Political Advertising Act. A broader ban on electoral deepfakes remains pending.

The Preventing Deepfake Images Act

House Bill 1299 was enacted as Public Chapter 466 and took effect July 1, 2025, adding a new part to TCA Title 39, Chapter 17. It supplies the definitions and the remedy provision that Tennessee's later deepfake legislation borrows.

TCA Section 39-17-1902 defines "deepfakes" as videos, images, or audio files generated or manipulated by artificial intelligence to realistically portray something that did not actually occur. The act's operative prohibition is narrower than that definition: Section 39-17-1903 creates a civil action for an individual who is the subject of an intimate digital depiction that is intentionally disclosed without consent, by someone who knows of or recklessly disregards the absence of consent.

Section 39-17-1904 sets the remedies, and it is the section the political advertising act cross-references. A plaintiff may recover the defendant's monetary gain from the depiction, either actual damages including emotional distress or $150,000 in liquidated damages, punitive damages, and the cost of the action including reasonable attorney's fees. A court may also order equitable relief, including a restraining order or injunction requiring the defendant to stop displaying the depiction, and may allow the plaintiff to proceed under a pseudonym.

The act carries criminal liability as well. Under Section 39-17-1906, disclosing, threatening to disclose, or soliciting the disclosure of an intimate digital depiction with intent to harass, threaten, or harm the depicted individual is a Class E felony. It rises to a Class C felony where the creation, reproduction, or distribution could reasonably be expected to affect an administrative, legislative, or judicial proceeding, including the administration of an election, or to facilitate violence.

Political Advertising Deepfake Law: HB 1513

House Bill 1513, the "Transparency for Deepfakes in Political Advertising Act," was signed by Governor Bill Lee and took effect July 1, 2026, as Public Chapter 625. It adds a new subdivision (a)(6) to TCA Section 2-19-120, the state's political advertising disclaimer statute.

Audio communications that qualify as a deepfake under Section 39-17-1902 and impersonate a candidate in speech the candidate did not engage in must state, at the beginning and at the end, that the communication contains fake content impersonating speech that did not occur. Video communications must carry the equivalent statement in large letters for the duration of the video.

The requirement has a scope limit the headlines rarely mention. When the impersonated or depicted candidate is not an incumbent office holder, the disclaimer applies only if the communication is distributed within 120 days of the initiation of voting in an election in which that candidate appears on the ballot. The act also shields hosts, internet service providers, search engines, cloud service providers, and paid broadcasters that were not responsible for creating the deepfake.

A candidate impersonated or depicted in such a communication is entitled to damages and equitable relief as provided in TCA Section 39-17-1904, with the exception of subsection (c). The act adds no penalty provision of its own, but the new requirement sits inside Section 2-19-120, and Section 2-19-120(c) makes a violation of that section a Class C misdemeanor, so a violation is criminally punishable as well as civilly actionable.

SB 2321: Electoral Deepfake Prohibition

Senate Bill 2321 takes a broader approach by prohibiting the distribution of "electoral deepfakes." The bill defines these as deceptive and fraudulent AI-generated or manipulated depictions of candidates or political parties intended to mislead voters within 90 days of an election.

The bill includes exceptions for content that carries a clear disclosure stating it has been altered by artificial intelligence. Disclosure requirements vary by media type:

• Images: Written text disclosure visible within the image
• Video: On-screen text disclosure throughout the video
• Audio: Spoken disclosure at the beginning and end of the recording

Candidates or political parties harmed by electoral deepfakes could seek injunctive relief to stop publication, and entities violating the law would face civil penalties ranging from $1,000 to $10,000, depending on the severity and intent of the violation, if the bill passes. As of this writing, SB 2321 remains pending in the Senate State and Local Government Committee and has not been enacted.

Tennessee AI Advisory Council

Tennessee's AI Advisory Council guides the state's approach to artificial intelligence in government operations and public policy. It is a statutory body, created by TCA Section 4-3-3105, not an executive-branch working group.

Action Plan

The AI Advisory Council released its November 2025 action plan, unanimously approved by council members at a public meeting on November 17, 2025. The plan establishes a framework for responsible AI adoption that ensures transparency, accountability, and protection of individual rights.

The action plan focuses on several strategic areas:

• Modernization and Pilots: Launching measurable AI pilot projects to improve government service delivery and efficiency
• Data and Compute Readiness: Building secure statewide infrastructure for safe AI experimentation
• Workforce Development: Preparing state employees and the broader workforce for AI integration
• Ethical Governance: Ensuring AI systems reflect Tennessee's values of transparency and accountability

Enterprise AI Policy

The Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration has published an Enterprise Artificial Intelligence Policy (Policy 200-POL-007) that governs AI use across state government agencies. This policy provides guidelines for procurement, deployment, and oversight of AI systems used in state operations.

Reporting Requirements

The council is required to provide annual reports to the Governor and the General Assembly tracking progress on its action plan. Its first annual report was delivered in December 2025, which the council describes as fulfilling its first annual statutory reporting requirement and as responding to the eight elements the statute directs it to examine. The council will continue its work through 2028.

AI and Mental Health Regulation

Tennessee law now bars AI systems from holding themselves out as qualified mental health professionals. Senate Bill 1580 became Public Chapter 647 when the governor signed it on April 6, 2026, and it took effect July 1, 2026. The bill passed the Senate 32-0 and the House 94-0.

The act adds TCA Section 33-1-205, which provides that a person who develops or deploys an artificial intelligence system shall not advertise or represent to the public that the system is, or is able to act as, a qualified mental health professional. It defines artificial intelligence for this purpose as models and systems capable of performing functions generally associated with human intelligence, including reasoning and learning.

Enforcement runs through consumer protection law rather than the licensing boards. A violation is an unfair or deceptive act or practice under the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act of 1977, and the act adds it to the list of per se violations at TCA Section 47-18-104(b). Notwithstanding the civil penalty limits the Consumer Protection Act otherwise sets, each violation carries a civil penalty of $5,000. Because the conduct is listed in Section 47-18-104(b), a person who suffers an ascertainable loss as a result may also sue individually under the Consumer Protection Act's private right of action at Section 47-18-109(a).

This legislation responds to growing concerns about AI chatbots providing therapeutic advice to users, particularly minors, without the qualifications or oversight that licensed mental health professionals must maintain. Note what the statute does and does not reach: it regulates how an AI system is advertised or presented to the public, not the substance of what a chatbot says to a user.

Federal AI Policy and Tennessee

Executive Order on State AI Laws

President Trump's Executive Order 14365, signed December 11, 2025, aims to establish a national AI policy framework that limits state-level AI regulation. The order directs the Department of Justice to create an AI Litigation Task Force empowered to challenge state AI laws on constitutional grounds.

For Tennessee, this creates uncertainty around pending bills like SB 2171. However, the executive order includes carve-outs for child safety protections and state government AI procurement policies, which would likely shield portions of Tennessee's legislative agenda from federal challenge.

Impact on Tennessee's Approach

Tennessee's targeted regulatory approach may prove more resilient to federal preemption challenges than the comprehensive AI frameworks adopted by states like Colorado. By focusing on specific harms (deepfakes, chatbot safety, child protection) rather than broad AI governance, Tennessee's laws are more likely to fall within the executive order's protected categories.

Looking Ahead: Tennessee's AI Regulatory Future

Tennessee's 114th General Assembly has several AI bills in various stages of consideration. SB 2171 represents the most significant pending proposal targeting AI companies with safety obligations and enforcement mechanisms. The CHAT Act (SB 1700) has already been enacted, but only as a directive for TACIR to study AI chatbot regulation, not as the felony framework originally proposed.

The state's AI Advisory Council will continue providing guidance through 2028, with annual reports shaping legislative priorities. Tennessee's position as a major music industry hub ensures that protections for creative professionals will remain a central feature of the state's AI regulatory approach.

The balance between encouraging AI innovation and protecting residents from AI-related harms will continue to define Tennessee's legislative strategy. The ELVIS Act's unanimous bipartisan support suggests that targeted, harm-focused AI regulation enjoys broad political support in the state.

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