Tennessee · verified October 5, 2026

Tennessee AI laws for political campaigns

Disclosure required3 AI call rules4 political AI laws

Starting July 1, 2026, a Tennessee political ad that uses an AI deepfake of a candidate must carry exact statutory wording (for audio, "This communication contains fake content impersonating speech that did not occur." at the start and end), and the ELVIS Act separately makes it a civil wrong to use anyone's real or AI-simulated voice or likeness for fundraising without consent.

Political ad AI law: Disclosure
When it applies: Anytime for depictions of incumbent officeholders; within 120 days of the initiation of voting in an election where the depicted candidate is on the ballot for non-incumbents
Required AI disclaimer: Exact wording set by law
Criminal penalty: Yes
Candidate can sue: Yes
AI voice calls: 3 state rules + TCPA

Political ads and deepfakes

Does Tennessee regulate AI in political ads?

Yes. Tennessee's Transparency for Deepfakes in Political Advertising Act (Public Chapter 625 of 2026, effective July 1, 2026) adds a deepfake rule to the state's political ad disclaimer law. A covered communication that uses an AI deepfake to impersonate a candidate's speech or depict a candidate's actions must state set wording: spoken at the start and end for audio, and in large letters for the whole video. For incumbents the rule applies year round; for non-incumbent candidates it applies only within 120 days before voting begins in an election where they are on the ballot. Violations are a Class C misdemeanor, and the depicted candidate can sue for damages (including $150,000 liquidated damages) and injunctions under the state's deepfake civil remedy statute. Key law (HB 1513 / SB 1624 (2026), Public Chapter 625, Tenn. Code Ann. 2-19-120(a)(6); deepfake defined in 39-17-1902; remedies in 39-17-1904).

HB 1513 / SB 1624 (2026), Public Chapter 625: Transparency for Deepfakes in Political Advertising Act

In effect

Required disclaimer, word for word

“Audio: "This communication contains fake content impersonating speech that did not occur." Video only: "This communication contains fake content depicting actions that did not occur." Audio and video: "This communication contains fake content depicting actions and speech that did not occur."”

Citation: Tenn. Code Ann. 2-19-120(a)(6); deepfake defined in 39-17-1902; remedies in 39-17-1904
Enacted: March 26, 2026
Effective: July 1, 2026
When it applies: anytime for depictions of incumbent officeholders; within 120 days of the initiation of voting in an election where the depicted candidate is on the ballot for non-incumbents
Media covered: audio and video deepfakes, meaning videos, images, or audio files generated or manipulated by AI to realistically portray something that did not occur, that impersonate or depict a candidate
Who it covers: whoever finances a communication covered by 2-19-120(a): communications expressly advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate or soliciting contributions through a broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine, outdoor advertising, poster, yard sign, direct mailing, or any other form of general public political advertising
Rule: disclosure required
Intent required: None stated. Applies when the communication is a deepfake impersonating or depicting a candidate saying or doing something they did not do.
Disclaimer format: Audio: clearly stated at the beginning and at the end of the communication. Video: clearly stated in large letters for the duration of the video.
Exemptions: hosts, third-party producers, internet service providers, search engines, and cloud providers that only provide access or transmission and did not create the deepfake
radio and TV stations, cable or satellite operators, and streaming or programming services paid to broadcast the material, if not responsible for creating it
Criminal penalty: Class C misdemeanor (2-19-120 penalty provision); in Tennessee that is up to 30 days in jail and a fine up to $50
Civil penalty: Through 39-17-1904: the defendant's monetary gains, actual damages (including emotional distress) or liquidated damages of $150,000, punitive damages, and costs and reasonable attorney fees
Who can sue: Yes. The impersonated or depicted candidate may recover damages and equitable relief under 39-17-1904 (except subsection (c), the pseudonym provision).
Injunction available: Yes
Notes: There is no ban; a labeled deepfake is lawful under this section. No satire or parody exemption in the text. Whether phone calls count as "general public political advertising" under 2-19-120(a) is not settled; treat recorded AI voice calls that impersonate a candidate as covered. FindLaw's current Tennessee Code shows subdivision (a)(6) in force. Passed March 12, 2026; approved March 26, 2026 (Public Chapter 625).

Read the official text

Bills to watch

SB 2321 / HB 2214 (2026): Deceptive and fraudulent electoral deepfakes: would have banned distributing an electoral deepfake of a state or local candidate or party within 90 days of an election unless labeled "This _____ has been manipulated or generated by artificial intelligence.". Failed (session adjourned April 2026 without passage, per Public Citizen)

For campaigns and consultants

Before an AI ad runs in Tennessee

From July 1, 2026, any ad, mailer video, or recorded call that uses an AI deepfake of a candidate must use the exact Tennessee wording for its format. Audio: say it at the start and the end. Video: large text the whole time.
For non-incumbent opponents the label duty runs in the 120 days before voting starts (early voting counts); for incumbents it never switches off.
Do not use any real person's voice or likeness, real or AI-cloned, in fundraising or donation asks without written consent; the ELVIS Act creates civil liability.
Satire is not exempt from the political ad label rule, so label parody deepfakes too.

AI voice calls and texts

Can a campaign use AI voice calls in Tennessee?

Three Tennessee laws touch AI voice calls. (1) The new deepfake disclaimer rule (2-19-120(a)(6), effective July 1, 2026) requires an audio deepfake impersonating a candidate in political advertising to say "This communication contains fake content impersonating speech that did not occur." at the start and end. (2) The ELVIS Act (2024) makes it a civil wrong to knowingly use any individual's voice, defined to include a simulation of the voice, "for purposes of fundraising, solicitation of donations" without prior consent, so an AI clone of a candidate, celebrity, or any identifiable person in a fundraising call needs that person's consent. (3) Tennessee's ADAD statute (Tenn. Code 47-18-1502) restricts automatic dialing and recorded message equipment used for advertising, soliciting, or "conducting polls or soliciting information": prior consent or a live operator introduction is needed, calls only 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., the caller's name and phone number within the first 25 seconds and at the end, and disconnection within 10 seconds of hang-up. No political exemption appears in the text, though its application to political robocalls was not confirmed.

HB 1513 / SB 1624 (2026), Public Chapter 625: Transparency for Deepfakes in Political Advertising Act (audio)

In effect

Required disclaimer, word for word

“This communication contains fake content impersonating speech that did not occur.”

Citation: Tenn. Code Ann. 2-19-120(a)(6)(A)
Enacted: March 26, 2026
Effective: July 1, 2026
When it applies: anytime for incumbents; within 120 days of the start of voting for non-incumbents
Media covered: audio deepfakes impersonating a candidate's speech
Who it covers: sponsors of political advertising covered by 2-19-120(a)
Rule: disclosure required
Disclaimer format: Clearly stated at the beginning and at the end of the communication.
Exemptions: carriers, hosts, and paid broadcasters not responsible for creating the deepfake
Criminal penalty: Class C misdemeanor
Civil penalty: Candidate remedies under 39-17-1904, including $150,000 liquidated damages
Who can sue: Depicted candidate
Injunction available: Yes
Notes: Applies only to AI audio that impersonates a candidate. A generic AI voice that does not pretend to be a candidate is not a deepfake under this rule.

Read the official text

HB 2091 / SB 2096 (2024), Public Chapter 588, Ensuring Likeness, Voice, and Image Security (ELVIS) Act: ELVIS Act (voice and likeness rights, including AI simulations)

In effect

Citation: Tenn. Code Ann. 47-25-1101 to 47-25-1108 (key provisions 47-25-1102, 47-25-1105, 47-25-1107)
Enacted: March 21, 2024
Effective: July 1, 2024
When it applies: anytime
Media covered: an individual's name, photograph, voice, or likeness in any medium; "voice" includes a simulation of the individual's voice
Who it covers: any person who knowingly uses the voice or likeness for advertising or for fundraising or solicitation of donations; also anyone who distributes the voice or likeness knowing it was unauthorized, and anyone who distributes a tool whose primary purpose is producing a specific person's voice or likeness without authorization
Rule: ban
Intent required: knowing use without the individual's prior consent
Exemptions: news, public affairs, or sports broadcasts or accounts
comment, criticism, scholarship, satire, or parody
fleeting or incidental use
certain audiovisual works and their promotion
Criminal penalty: The Act amended the criminal provision at 39-14-152; criminal exposure not analyzed here
Civil penalty: Civil action for injunctions and damages
Who can sue: Yes. The individual (or rights holder) whose voice or likeness was used.
Injunction available: Yes
Notes: Relevant to campaigns because the ban expressly covers fundraising and donation solicitation. Political commentary or criticism is a fair use under 47-25-1107, but a fundraising call using a cloned voice is a separate use. Whether a paid political ad is "commercial" is a question of fact under 47-25-1107.

Read the official text

Consumer Telemarketing Protection Act of 1990: Automatic dialing and recorded message (ADAD) equipment

In effect

Citation: Tenn. Code Ann. 47-18-1501 and 47-18-1502
When it applies: anytime
Media covered: devices that automatically dial numbers and play recorded messages
Who it covers: anyone using ADAD equipment for advertising or offering goods, services, or property, or for conducting polls or soliciting information
Rule: ban unless disclosed
Disclaimer format: Prior consent, or a live operator who introduces the call and states that a recorded message will play. Calls only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. Name and telephone number of the person or organization making the call within the first 25 seconds and at the end. Must disconnect within 10 seconds after the called person hangs up or declines. No calls to hospitals, nursing homes, fire, or law enforcement agencies.
Injunction available: No
Notes: The "conducting polls or soliciting information" language could reach political survey and voter ID robocalls. Enforcement provisions and any political exemption were not confirmed.

Read the official text

Federal floor everywhere: AI-generated voices are “artificial” voices under the TCPA (FCC, February 2024), so they need prior express consent to cell phones and must identify the caller at the start of the call. AI robocall laws in every state

Federal layer

Federal rules that apply in Tennessee

At the federal level, the binding rules that hit AI in campaigns today are the TCPA and FCC robocall rules, not any AI-specific election law. Since February 2024 the FCC treats AI-generated voices as "artificial" voices, so AI voice calls to cell phones need prior express consent (political calls included), AI or prerecorded political calls to landlines are limited to three per 30 days without consent, and every such message must identify the caller, give a callback number and offer an opt-out. The FEC says its existing fraudulent misrepresentation ban covers AI, but it has had no quorum since April 2025 and cannot enforce. Proposed FCC rules on AI disclosure in broadcast political ads and in AI calls were never adopted, and no federal AI political ad disclaimer bill has passed. Federal efforts to preempt state AI laws (a 2025 moratorium the Senate struck 99 to 1, and Executive Order 14365) have not displaced any state election or robocall law as of October 2026.

FCC, FEC and the federal preemption fight

How Tennessee compares

25 other jurisdictions share Tennessee's status (disclosure):

Alabama · Arizona · Colorado · Delaware · Florida · Idaho · Indiana · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Michigan · Mississippi · Montana · Nevada · New Hampshire · New Mexico · New York · North Dakota · Oregon · Rhode Island · South Dakota · Utah · Vermont · Washington · Wisconsin

See Tennessee on the map Political deepfake laws, all states Disclaimer generator Tennessee 2026 elections Tennessee underdog paths to victory

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Frequently asked questions

Does Tennessee regulate AI in political ads?

What AI disclaimer does Tennessee require on political ads?

HB 1513 / SB 1624 (2026), Public Chapter 625, Tenn. Code Ann. 2-19-120(a)(6); deepfake defined in 39-17-1902; remedies in 39-17-1904 requires: "Audio: "This communication contains fake content impersonating speech that did not occur." Video only: "This communication contains fake content depicting actions that did not occur." Audio and video: "This communication contains fake content depicting actions and speech that did not occur."" Format: Audio: clearly stated at the beginning and at the end of the communication. Video: clearly stated in large letters for the duration of the video.

What is the penalty for a deceptive political deepfake in Tennessee?

Criminal: Class C misdemeanor (2-19-120 penalty provision); in Tennessee that is up to 30 days in jail and a fine up to $50. Civil: Through 39-17-1904: the defendant's monetary gains, actual damages (including emotional distress) or liquidated damages of $150,000, punitive damages, and costs and reasonable attorney fees. Private lawsuits: Yes. The impersonated or depicted candidate may recover damages and equitable relief under 39-17-1904 (except subsection (c), the pseudonym provision).

When does the Tennessee political deepfake law apply?

anytime for depictions of incumbent officeholders; within 120 days of the initiation of voting in an election where the depicted candidate is on the ballot for non-incumbents. It covers audio and video deepfakes, meaning videos, images, or audio files generated or manipulated by AI to realistically portray something that did not occur, that impersonate or depict a candidate.

Can a campaign use an AI voice for robocalls in Tennessee?

How many political AI laws does Tennessee have?

This tracker counts 4 Tennessee AI laws touching politics and elections as of October 5, 2026: 1 on elections, 3 on AI or artificial voice calls.

Are there pending AI election bills in Tennessee?

SB 2321 / HB 2214 (2026) (Deceptive and fraudulent electoral deepfakes: would have banned distributing an electoral deepfake of a state or local candidate or party within 90 days of an election unless labeled "This _____ has been manipulated or generated by artificial intelligence."): Failed (session adjourned April 2026 without passage, per Public Citizen).

Sources

Verified October 5, 2026 against official legislature and statute pages. This page summarizes Tennessee law for campaigns and is not legal advice.