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HB2057 • 2026

Internet and e-Commerce

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

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Towns, Lamar
Last action
2026-03-18
Official status
No Action Taken
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Social Media Account Deletion Act

This bill requires social media platforms to delete personal information when an account holder terminates their account, with exceptions for certain services.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires social media companies to remove all personal data linked to a deleted user's account.
  • Does not apply to broadband internet access and email services, career development sites, cloud storage or computing services, online shopping platforms, technical support websites, or peer-to-peer payment systems.
  • Allows users who believe their information was not properly removed to sue the social media company in court.
  • Enables courts to issue injunctions and award damages if a violation is found.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Social media companies
  • Users of social media platforms

Terms To Know

Personal information
Information that can be linked or reasonably linkable to an identified or identifiable natural person, excluding publicly available data.
Account holder
A person who has a profile on a social media platform.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not apply to certain services like broadband internet access and email.
  • It relies on the Tennessee Information Privacy Act for additional protections when an account is not deleted but personal information is requested to be removed.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    No Action Taken

  2. 2026-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.

  3. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Banking & Consumer Affairs Subcommittee for 3/18/2026

  4. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Banking & Consumer Affairs Subcommittee to 3/18/2026

  5. 2026-03-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  6. 2026-03-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  7. 2026-03-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate, Ayes 32, Nays 0

  8. 2026-03-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Consent Calendar 2 for 3/9/2026

  9. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Banking & Consumer Affairs Subcommittee for 3/11/2026

  10. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Banking and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee to 3/11/2026

  11. 2026-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee

  12. 2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Banking & Consumer Affairs Subcommittee for 3/4/2026

  13. 2026-02-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Commerce and Labor Committee calendar for 3/3/2026

  14. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Banking & Consumer Affairs Subcommittee

  15. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Commerce Committee

  16. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  17. 2026-01-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  18. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Commerce and Labor Committee

  19. 2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  20. 2026-01-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

I
f an account holder terminates their account on a social media platform
, then this bill requires
the platform
to
delete all personal information pertaining to that account.

This
requirement
applies to any information that is linked or reasonably linkable to an identified or identifiable natural person, including data collected directly through the platform via the deleted account, whether that information was generated by the account holder
or by another user.
However, these requirements do not apply to

broadband internet access and email services,
services that primarily provide
career development opportunities, cloud storage or computing services, and internet applications where interactive functionality is incidental to preselected content or predominantly limited to online shopping, technical support, or peer-to-peer payment
processing.

These requirements do not limit or otherwise affect a platform
'
s obligations under the Tennessee Information Privacy Act (
"
TIPA
"
).

If an account holder does not dele
te the account but requests deletion of personal information, the platform must process that request in accordance with TIPA
'
s consumer rights provisions.

CIVIL REMEDIES

This bill authorizes a
person who believes a social media platform has violated the deletion requirements
to
bring a civil cause of action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the platform or the social media company.

A court
finding a
violation may issue an injunction and award the prevailing party
(i) a
ctual damages;
(ii) p
unitive damages; and
(iii) r
easonable court costs and attorney fees.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
SENATE BILL 1799
By Lamar

HOUSE BILL 2057
By Towns
HB2057
011446
- 1 -

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

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 47, Chapter 18, is amended by adding
the following as a new part:
47-18-3501.
As used in this part:
(1) "Account holder" means a person who has an account or profile to
use a social media company's platform;
(2) "Content":
(A) Means text, image, or video; and
(B) Does not include interactive gaming or educational
entertainment;
(3) "De-identified data" means data that cannot reasonably be linked to
an identified or identifiable natural person, or a device linked to that individual;
(4) "Interactive computer service":
(A) Means an information service, as defined in 47 U.S.C. § 153,
information system, or information access software that:
(i) Provides or enables access by multiple users to a
computer server; and
(ii) Provides access to the internet; and
(B) Includes an internet service, an internet system, a website, an
internet application, and an internet portal;

- 2 - 011446

(5) "Person" means an individual or entity;
(6) "Personal information":
(A) Means information that is linked or reasonably linkable to an
identified or identifiable natural person; and
(B) Does not include information that is:
(i) Publicly available information; or
(ii) De-identified data or aggregate consumer information;
(7) "Social media company" means a person that is an interactive
computer service and that provides a social media platform;
(8) "Social media platform":
(A) Means a website or internet application that:
(i) Allows a person to create an account; and
(ii) Enables an account holder to communicate with other
account holders and users through posts; and
(B) Does not include:
(i) A broadband internet access service, as defined in 47
CFR § 8.1(b);
(ii) An email service;
(iii) An internet service, internet application, or website:
(a) That consists primarily of content that is not
generated by account holders, but rather is preselected by
the service, application, or website provider; and
(b) For which interactive functionality is incidental
to, directly related to, or dependent upon, the preselected
content described in subdivision (8)(B)(iii)(a);

- 3 - 011446

(iv) Online shopping, if the interaction with other account
holders or users is predominantly limited to the ability to send,
receive, request, or settle funds, comment on transactions, display
goods for sale, engage as consumers about products and
reviews, or post a wish list;
(v) An internet service, internet application, or website that
primarily provides career development opportunities;
(vi) A cloud storage or cloud computing service;
(vii) An online service, application, or website in which
interaction between users is predominately used for technical
support, or limited to reviewing products offered for sale by
electronic commerce or commenting on such reviews posted by
other users; or
(viii) Peer-to-peer payment platforms, if the interaction with
other users or account holders is generally limited to the ability to
send, receive, or request funds and to like or comment on such
transactions, or other functions that are focused on sending,
receiving, requesting, or settling payments between users or
account holders; and
(9) "User" means a person who consumes posts on a social media
platform, but is not an account holder.
47-18-3502.
(a) If an account holder deletes the account holder's account on a social media
platform, then the social media platform shall delete all personal information pertaining to

- 4 - 011446

the deleted account or collected directly through the use of the social media platform
through the deleted account by the account holder or another user.
(b) Subsection (a) does not limit or otherwise affect a social media platform's
obligations under the Tennessee Information Protection Act (TIPA), compiled in part 33
of this chapter. If an account holder has not deleted the account holder's account but
requests deletion of the account holder's personal information, then the social media
platform shall comply with the requirements of TIPA, including under § 47-18-3304, to
the extent such requirements apply to the social media platform.
47-18-3503.
A person who believes that a social media platform has violated § 47-18-3502
may bring a civil cause of action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the social
media platform or social media company that provides the social media platform. A
court that finds that a social media platform violated § 47-18-3502 may issue an
injunction and award to the prevailing party:
(1) Actual damages;
(2) Punitive damages; and
(3) Reasonable court costs and attorney fees.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect January 1, 2027, the public welfare requiring it, and
applies to conduct occurring on or after that date.