Tennessee Children’s Privacy Laws (2026)

HB 1891 (113th GA) / Public Chapter 899

In force · Social media · effective 2025-01-01 · binds operators, platforms

Ages: under 18 (minors)

Requires: Social media platforms must verify the age of anyone who tries to open an account and, if that person is a minor (under 18), verify express parental/guardian consent before the account is created; the Act covers only accounts created on or after 2025-01-01. Parents can revoke consent and must get supervision tools (view privacy settings, set daily time limits, schedule access breaks); neither the platform nor a third party may retain the personal information used for age/consent verification. Enforced by the TN Attorney General.

Litigation: NetChoice v. Skrmetti, No. 3:24-cv-01191 (M.D. Tenn.); appeal No. 25-5660 (6th Cir.). The district court denied NetChoice's preliminary-injunction motion 2025-06-18, finding no irreparable harm. On 2026-08-28 a divided Sixth Circuit panel (Batchelder, J., joined by Ritz, J.; Clay, J., dissenting) VACATED that denial and REMANDED for further consideration of the motion, holding the district court abused its discretion: unrecoverable compliance costs and, assuming NetChoice's First Amendment claims succeed on the merits, the chilling effect of a credible enforcement threat both clear the irreparable-harm threshold. The panel expressly took no position on those merits, leaving them to the district court. The Sixth Circuit's mandate issued 2026-09-21; the same day the district court (Judge Richardson) ordered supplemental briefs of up to ten pages on the preliminary-injunction motion within seven days, addressing among other things NetChoice v. Yost and the State's pending motion to dismiss (Doc. 91). A 2026-09-23 order (Doc. 110) ruled on a motion to extend that deadline; its text is not publicly available. No injunction has issued, so the Act remains enforceable while the district court reconsiders the motion. Distinct from the sister case NetChoice v. Yost (6th Cir. No. 25-3371, Ohio's law), where rehearing en banc was denied 2026-08-05 and the mandate was stayed 2026-08-17.

Entry last reviewed 2026-10-01

SB 73 / HB 1181

In force · Privacy law (minors) · effective 2025-07-01 · binds operators

Ages: Children under 13 ("known child"); no separate heightened tier for teens 13-17

Requires: TIPA classifies any personal data collected from a "known child" (a consumer under 13) as sensitive data, and a controller may not process the sensitive data of a known child unless it does so in accordance with the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), i.e., with verifiable parental consent. TIPA does not impose a separate heightened opt-in/teen tier for minors aged 13-17; its minor-specific duties track the COPPA under-13 baseline (older minors are covered only by the general consumer opt-out rights for targeted advertising, sale, and profiling).

Entry last reviewed 2026-10-01