The Tennessee Ensuring Likeness, Voice, and Image Security Act of 2024: Text and Analysis

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The Tennessee Ensuring Likeness, Voice, and Image Security Act of 2024 ( the “Act”) is a powerful new tool to combat deepfakes.

As promised on the previous post, we can now discuss the text of the Tennessee Ensuring Likeness, Voice, and Image Security Act of 2024 ( the “Act”) in detail. Since the Act is a series of amendments to an already existing Tennessee law, and we have to start with that existing statute first to understand the full importance of the amendments contained in the Act.

The law being amended is Chapter 25, Part 11 of the Tennessee Code, entitled Protection of Personal Rights (the “PRA Law”). Tennessee Code §47-25-1100, et seq.

The policy upon which the PRA Law is based is stated as follows:

a. Every individual has a property right in the use of that person's name, photograph, or likeness in any medium in any manner.

b. The individual rights provided for in subsection (a) constitute property rights and are freely assignable and licensable, and do not expire upon the death of the individual so protected, whether or not such rights were commercially exploited by the individual during the individual's lifetime, but shall be descendible to the executors, assigns, heirs, or devisees of the individual so protected by this part. Tennessee Code §47-25-1103.

It is important to note that the term “individual” is defined as a “human being, living or dead.” Tennessee Code §47-25-1102(2). Thus, the PRA Law is actionable by the personal representative of a decedent also, but only for a period of ten (10) years after the decedent’s death. Tennessee Code §47-25-1104(a).

The prohibited conduct is knowing and unauthorized commercial use:

a. Any person who knowingly uses or infringes upon the use of another individual's name, photograph, or likeness in any medium, in any manner directed to any person other than such individual, as an item of commerce for purposes of advertising products, merchandise, goods, or services, or for purposes of fund raising, solicitation of donations, purchases of products, merchandise, goods, or services, without such individual's prior consent, or, in the case of a minor, the prior consent of such minor's parent or legal guardian, or in the case of a deceased individual, the consent of the executor or administrator, heirs, or devisees of such deceased individual, shall be liable to a civil action.

b. In addition to the civil action authorized by this section and the remedies set out in § 47-25-1106, any person who commits unauthorized use as defined in subsection (a) commits a Class A misdemeanor. Tennessee Code § 47-25-1105 (emphasis added).

Tennessee includes criminal liability along with exposure to a civil lawsuit, which is unlike some other state jurisdictions.

Now that we have established the outlines of the PRA Law, let’s look at the new amendments that were just signed into law last week.

The text of the ELVIS Act and the podcast are below: