Tennessee Code Title 2. Elections § 2-19-120

Current as of January 02, 2024 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

(a)(1) Whenever any person makes an expenditure for the purpose of financing a communication that expressly advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate, as defined by § 2-10-102, or that solicits any contribution, through any broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine, outdoor advertising facility, poster, yard sign, direct mailing or any other form of general public political advertising, a disclaimer meeting the requirements of subdivision (a)(2), (3), (4) or (5) shall appear and be presented in a clear and conspicuous manner to give the reader, observer or listener adequate notice of the identity of persons who paid for and, where required, who authorized the communication. Such person is not required to place the disclaimer on the front face or page of any such material, as long as a disclaimer appears within the communication, except on communications, such as billboards, that contain only a front face.

(2)(A) Such communication, including any solicitation, if paid for and authorized by a candidate, an authorized committee of a candidate, or its agent shall clearly state that the communication has been paid for by the authorized political committee, in addition to the identity of the person who is the head of such committee, or the identity of the treasurer of such committee.

(B) Notwithstanding another law, if a candidate changes treasurers and notifies the registry of election finance of the change pursuant to § 2-10-105(e)(1), the candidate may continue to use print communication that includes the identification of the former treasurer until the print communication is exhausted. As used in this subdivision (a)(2)(B), “print communication” means a physical sign, placard, pamphlet, flyer, sticker, or other physical material used for a communication, and does not include an audio, video, or digital communication.

(3) Such communication, including any solicitation, if authorized by a candidate, an authorized committee of a candidate or an agent thereof, but paid for by any other person, shall clearly state that the communication is paid for by such other person and is authorized by such candidate, authorized committee or agent.

(4) Such communication, including any solicitation, if made on behalf of or in opposition to a candidate, but paid for by any other person and not authorized by a candidate, authorized committee of a candidate or its agent, shall clearly state that the communication has been paid for by such person and is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

(5)(A) For solicitations directed to the general public on behalf of a political committee which is not an authorized committee of a candidate, such solicitation shall clearly state the full name of the person who paid for the communication.

(B) For purposes of this section, whenever a separate segregated fund solicits contributions to the fund from those persons it may solicit, such communication shall not be considered a form of general public advertising. Such advertisements shall also include the name of the printer of such advertisement, and the identity of the person who paid for the advertisement.

(6)(A) Such communication, when in audio form, if considered a deepfake as defined in § 39-17-1902 and impersonating a candidate for elected office engaging in speech in which the candidate did not in fact engage, shall clearly state at the beginning and at the end of the communication:

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

(B) Such communication, when in video form, if considered a deepfake as defined in § 39-17-1902 and depicting a candidate for elected office engaging in action or speech in which the depicted candidate did not in fact engage, shall clearly state in large letters for the duration of the video:

(i) If the communication includes only video media:

This communication contains fake content depicting actions that did not occur.

(ii) If the communication includes both audio and video media of a candidate engaging in action or speech in which the candidate did not engage:

This communication contains fake content depicting actions and speech that did not occur.

(C) When the impersonated or depicted candidate is not an incumbent office holder, subdivisions (a)(6)(A) and (a)(6)(B) apply only if the communication is distributed within one hundred twenty (120) days of the initiation of voting in an election in which the candidate for elected office appears on the ballot.

(D)(1) A person or entity that is a host, third-party producer, or internet service provider, including its affiliates or subsidiaries, or that operates a search engine or a cloud service provider, is not liable under this subdivision (a)(6) solely for providing access or connection to or from a website or other information or content on the internet, nor is a facility, system, or network not under the control of the internet service provider liable under this subdivision (a)(6), including from transmission, downloading, intermediate storage, or access software, to the extent such provider is not responsible for the creation of the deceptive and fraudulent deepfake.

(2) This subdivision (a)(6) does not apply to a radio or television broadcasting station, cable or satellite television operator, streaming or other programming service when it is paid to broadcast material containing a deepfake, to the extent such entity is not responsible for the creation of the deceptive and fraudulent deepfake.

(E) An impersonated or depicted candidate for elected office who is the subject of a deepfake communication as described in this subdivision (a)(6) is entitled to damages and equitable relief as provided for in § 39-17-1904, with the exception of § 39-17-1904(c).

(b) The requirements of this section do not apply to bumper stickers, pins, buttons, pens, novelties, and similar small items upon which the disclaimer cannot be conveniently printed.

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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Tennessee Code Title 2. Elections § 2-19-120 - last updated January 02, 2024 | https://codes.findlaw.com/tn/title-2-elections/tn-code-sect-2-19-120/

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