AI Frontier Institute

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 2, Chapter 19, relative to the Transparency for Deepfakes in Political Advertising Act.

View primary source →

Tennessee Public Chapter 625 (House Bill 1513, substituted for Senate Bill 1624) is law, effective July 1, 2026. Section 1 names it the "Transparency for Deepfakes in Political Advertising Act." Section 2 adds a new subdivision (6) to Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-19-120(a). Under (a)(6)(A), an audio communication that is a deepfake as defined in § 39-17-1902 and impersonates a candidate for elected office saying something the candidate did not say must clearly state at its beginning and end: "This communication contains fake content impersonating speech that did not occur." Under (a)(6)(B), a video deepfake depicting a candidate in action or speech that did not occur must clearly state, in large letters for the whole video, either "This communication contains fake content depicting actions that did not occur" (video only) or "This communication contains fake content depicting actions and speech that did not occur" (audio and video). Under (a)(6)(C), if the candidate is not an incumbent office holder, these requirements apply only to communications distributed within 120 days of the start of voting in an election in which the candidate is on the ballot. Under (a)(6)(D)(1), hosts, third-party producers, internet service providers (including affiliates and subsidiaries), search engines and cloud service providers are not liable solely for providing access or connection, to the extent they did not create the deceptive deepfake. Under (a)(6)(D)(2), the subdivision does not apply to radio or television stations, cable or satellite operators, or streaming or other programming services paid to broadcast deepfake material, to the extent they did not create it. Under (a)(6)(E), an impersonated or depicted candidate is entitled to damages and equitable relief as provided in § 39-17-1904, except § 39-17-1904(c). Section 3 sets the July 1, 2026 effective date.

← Back to the tracker