Tennessee Senate Bill SB1799

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/20/26
• Engrossed: 3/9/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4 and Title 47, Chapter 18, relative to social media.

Summary

SB1799 creates a new part of Tennessee’s consumer protection law governing social media platforms and the handling of user data when an account is deleted. The bill defines key terms such as “social media company,” “social media platform,” “account holder,” “user,” and “personal information,” and it excludes a range of services from the definition of social media platform, including email, broadband internet access, cloud services, online shopping functions, career-development sites, technical-support forums, and peer-to-peer payment platforms. The core requirement is that when an account holder deletes an account, the social media platform must delete all personal information tied to that deleted account or collected directly through use of the platform through that account by the account holder or another user. If the account has not been deleted but the person requests deletion of personal information, the bill directs the platform to comply with the Tennessee Information Protection Act to the extent applicable. The bill also creates a private right of action, allowing a person who believes a platform violated the deletion requirement to sue for injunctive relief, actual damages, punitive damages, and attorney fees. The bill would add a new statutory obligation for social media companies operating in Tennessee and would expand potential liability under Title 47, Chapter 18. It interacts with the Tennessee Information Protection Act by preserving those existing rights and remedies while adding a separate deletion rule tied specifically to account deletion on social media platforms. The effective date is January 1, 2027, and the bill applies only to conduct occurring on or after that date. The general sentiment reflected in the available voting history is strongly favorable: the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee recommended passage unanimously, and the floor motion to adopt also passed unanimously. No committee transcript excerpts are available, so there is no recorded debate in the provided materials. The unanimous votes suggest broad support, while the bill’s detailed platform exclusions and its private enforcement mechanism indicate the main policy focus was on user data deletion rather than broader regulation of all internet services.

Impact

SB1799 would amend Tennessee Code Annotated Title 47, Chapter 18 by adding a new social media privacy and data-deletion framework. It would require social media platforms to delete personal information associated with a deleted account and would authorize private civil enforcement, including injunctions, damages, and attorney fees. The bill also preserves and incorporates the Tennessee Information Protection Act for requests to delete personal information without account deletion, thereby layering a new social media-specific rule onto existing consumer privacy law.

Sentiment

The available legislative history shows unanimous support at both the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee and the Senate floor motion to adopt. With no committee transcript provided, there is no recorded opposition or detailed debate in the materials. Overall, the bill appears to have been viewed positively and as a targeted privacy measure rather than a controversial regulatory expansion.

Contention

No explicit contention appears in the provided transcripts or votes, but the bill’s structure suggests likely policy sensitivities around how broadly “social media platform” should be defined, what data must be deleted, and whether private lawsuits are an appropriate enforcement tool. The bill narrows its reach by excluding many internet services, which may have been intended to address concerns from technology and e-commerce stakeholders. The strongest potential point of contention is the private right of action with actual and punitive damages, which can raise compliance and litigation concerns for social media companies.