Video Consumer Privacy Act
Tenn. VCPA
Other · Marketing
The official source for this law changed after it was last checked. It is being re-checked.
Tennessee's state analogue to the federal Video Privacy Protection Act bars sellers and renters of prerecorded video and similar audiovisual materials from knowingly disclosing information that identifies a consumer as having requested or obtained specific video materials. Disclosure is allowed to the consumer, with informed written consent, for ordinary business operations, or for direct marketing after a clear opt-out opportunity, and records must be destroyed within a year after they are no longer needed.
- Where
- Tennessee
- Citation
- Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 47-18-2201 to 47-18-2205
- Status
- In force
- Enforced by
- Aggrieved consumers (private civil action)
- People can sue
- Yes
- Penalties
- A violator is liable to the aggrieved consumer for all actual damages caused by the violation (§ 47-18-2205).
- Applies to
- Video tape sellers and video tape service providers: persons in the business of selling or renting prerecorded video cassette tapes or similar audiovisual materials
What a privacy notice must say
- Before selling customer names and viewing subjects to marketers, give a written opt-out notice in at least 10-point bold type on the rental agreement and a posted sign at the point of rental, using the statutory wording.Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 47-18-2203(2), 47-18-2204(c)(2), (c)(4) · Only if: Applies when disclosing for marketing
Practices it requires
- Do not knowingly disclose personally identifiable information showing that a consumer requested or obtained specific video materials, except as the statute allows.Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-2204(a), (c)
Security duties
- Destroy personally identifiable information as soon as practicable, and no later than one year after it is no longer needed for its purpose, unless an access request or order is pending.Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-2204(e)
Other duties
- Disclose only to a grand jury subpoena, a court order after notice to the consumer, or a warrant; disclose a minor's information to the parent or guardian on request.Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-2204(b)
Sources
Checked against these sources on 2026-09-25 by research agent (Claude), primary sources.
Unverified: No primary source fetched: the enacting law (1999 Tenn. Pub. Acts ch. 342) is not online at the Secretary of State site (access denied), and the official Lexis code could not be loaded. Text is from the code publisher Justia; effective date null for that reason. | Courts have considered whether the act reaches online streaming services and web tracking pixels; that case law was not researched.
Research reference, not legal advice.