AI law comparison · Data verified 2026-08-23
California AB 2655 (Election Deepfakes) vs Tennessee ELVIS Act
California AB 2655 (Election Deepfakes) and Tennessee ELVIS Act are two of the 169 AI and data regulations Aegis Firma tracks. They have different scopes, effective dates, and penalties — and many businesses fall under both. Here is the side-by-side, drawn directly from the regulatory registry.
Find which laws apply to my businessSide by side
Summary of publicly available regulatory text. Verify against current official sources before relying on this for compliance decisions. Not legal advice.
The key difference
Tennessee ELVIS Act takes effect first, so it is usually the more urgent of the two. California AB 2655 (Election Deepfakes) tracks 3 compliance requirements and Tennessee ELVIS Act tracks 4. They are not interchangeable — meeting one does not discharge the other. The practical question is not which law is “stricter,” but which of them — or both — actually applies to your business.
California AB 2655 — Defending Democracy from Deepfake Deception Act
HISTORICAL / NOT CURRENTLY ENFORCEABLE — California AB 2655 (Defending Democracy from Deepfake Deception Act of 2024) was struck down in its entirety on 20 August 2025 (Kohls v. Bonta, E.D. Cal.) as preempted by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act; California has agreed not to enforce it, and a Ninth Circuit appeal is pending as of June 2026. The following describes the law AS ENACTED, for historical/contin…
Full California AB 2655 (Election Deepfakes) requirementsTennessee ELVIS Act — Ensuring Likeness, Voice, and Image Security Act of 2024
Tennessee's ELVIS Act (HB 2091/SB 2096, Public Chapter 588, signed March 21, 2024, effective July 1, 2024) was the first US law specifically protecting individuals' voices from AI replication without consent. Rather than creating a new chapter, it renamed and rebuilt the Personal Rights Protection Act of 1984 as the "Ensuring Likeness, Voice, and Image Security Act of 2024" (§ 47-25-1101) and inserted "voice" through…
Full Tennessee ELVIS Act requirementsCommon questions
Could both California AB 2655 (Election Deepfakes) and Tennessee ELVIS Act apply to my business?
Yes. California AB 2655 (Election Deepfakes) and Tennessee ELVIS Act are separate regulations with separate scopes — a business can fall under both at once. California AB 2655 (Election Deepfakes) covers HISTORICAL / NOT CURRENTLY ENFORCEABLE — AB 2655 was struck down in its entirety on 20 Aug 2025 (Kohls v. Tennessee ELVIS Act covers Applies to any person or business that (a) knowingly uses an individual's name, photograph, voice or likeness for advertising, merchandise, goods, services, or… If your operations meet both scopes, you must comply with both. Aegis Firma's free scan checks all 169 tracked regulations against your business profile so you do not have to read each law to find out.
Which has the higher maximum penalty — California AB 2655 (Election Deepfakes) or Tennessee ELVIS Act?
California AB 2655 (Election Deepfakes): STRUCK DOWN (Kohls v. Bonta, 20 Aug 2025) — no live exposure. As enacted: injunctive or other equitable relief sought by the Attorney General, a district attorney, or a city attorney, with the violation proved by clear and convincing evidence (Elec. Code § 20516). The enforcement section provided no damages award and no general private right of action — the prior "damages (private right of action)" description was not supported by § 20516. Tennessee ELVIS Act: Criminal: Class A misdemeanour under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-152 — up to 11 months 29 days in jail and/or a $2,500 fine. (PC 588 § 12 amended only § 39-14-152(g) to substitute the new Act name; the criminal offence itself predates and sits outside § 47-25-1106.) Civil under § 47-25-1106: injunctive relief, seizure/impoundment and destruction of infringing materials, actual damages plus the violator's profits attributable to the unauthorised use, and punitive damages where available. Enhanced remedy at § 47-25-1106(d)(2): three times actual damages plus reasonable attorney fees where a person knowingly uses or infringes the rights of a "member of the armed forces" — defined as a member of the US armed forces or of a reserve or Tennessee National Guard unit who is in, or was called into, active service. NOTE (R514): that treble provision is pre-existing Personal Rights Protection Act law, not something the ELVIS Act created; PC 588 does not contain it. Penalty structures differ by regulator and violation type — read each law's full page for the cure periods and per-violation detail.
When does each law take effect?
California AB 2655 (Election Deepfakes) — effective 2025-01-01. Tennessee ELVIS Act — effective 2024-07-01. Dates last verified against official sources on 2026-08-23 and 2026-08-25 respectively.
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