USA – TENNESSEE Trends and Developments Contributed by: Alisa Chestler, Matthew White and Andrew Droke, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC
Record disposal and Social Security number protections Finally, Tennessee imposes additional data security obligations through its identity theft statutes. Busi - nesses must take reasonable steps to destroy per - sonal identifying information contained in customer records before disposal, with violations punishable by civil penalties of up to USD500 per record (capped at USD10,000 per customer). Separately, businesses that obtain Social Security numbers must make rea - sonable efforts to protect them from public disclo - sure, including prohibitions on transmitting them over unsecured internet connections and printing them on mailed materials. Taken together, these laws create a layered set of data security obligations for businesses operating in Tennessee. While the class action shield provides meaningful protection, businesses should not treat it as a substitute for robust cybersecurity practices. Pro - active investment in cybersecurity infrastructure and incident response planning remains the most effec - tive strategy for minimising both legal exposure and operational risk. Technologies Finally, in addition to the privacy and security laws dis - cussed above, Tennessee has adopted various laws focused on specific technologies that also impact how businesses in Tennessee consider their data protec - tion obligations and strategies. The Protect Tennessee Minors Act In 2024, following several other states, Tennessee enacted the Protect Tennessee Minors Act, which is an age verification law aimed at shielding minors from accessing explicit material online. The law applies to any person or commercial entity that publishes or distributes in Tennessee a website where 33.33% or more of the content is “harmful to minors”. “Harm - ful to minors” is defined as including nudity, certain sexual content, excess violence or sadomasochistic abuse that: • would appeal predominantly to the prurient, shameful or morbid interests of minors;
• is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable for minors; and • lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific values for minors. The law requires covered entities to verify users’ ages using a “reasonable age-verification method” that cannot be easily bypassed and either matches a live photograph to a valid government-issued ID or uses a commercially reasonable method relying on trans - actional data to confirm that the user is at least 18 years of age. Entities performing age verification must retain at least seven years of anonymised verification data but may not retain any personally identifying information after access is granted. Failing to implement the required age verification is a Class C felony, and the Tennessee Attorney General may bring enforcement actions against non-compliant entities. The Protecting Children from Social Media Act Tennessee has also adopted the Protecting Children from Social Media Act, which requires websites and applications that allow users to create accounts and communicate with others to verify users’ ages. If a user is under 18 years old, the platform must obtain express parental consent before allowing the minor to create an account, and must provide parents with tools to supervise the account including privacy set - tings, daily time restrictions and scheduled breaks. The law is enforced by the Tennessee Attorney Gener - al, with civil penalties of up to USD1,000 per violation. AI legislation Tennessee has not yet adopted a comprehensive AI law. Instead, the state’s legislative efforts have focused on niche areas. By way of example, in 2024, Tennessee adopted a first-of-its-kind law addressing the use of AI. The Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security (ELVIS) Act amended Tennessee’s existing right of publicity statute to include protections for individuals’ voices from the misuse of AI, expanding upon the protec -
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