AI Governance Briefing — July 1, 2025

Executive briefing: Tennessee’s Ensuring Likeness, Voice, and Image Security (ELVIS) Act enters into force on July 1, 2025, extending the state’s right of publicity law to cover AI-generated replicas of an artist’s voice or visual persona. The statute requires clear permission before training or deploying synthetic performances, introduces statutory damages for deepfake exploitation, and empowers civil actions against platforms that knowingly host infringing content. Entertainment and media organizations must evidence provenance controls, takedown workflows, and consent tracking so catalogs, marketing campaigns, and fan experiences stay compliant.

Key regulatory signals

Explicit coverage of AI replicas. The ELVIS Act amends Tennessee Code Annotated Title 47, Chapter 25 to prohibit creating or distributing an artist’s synthetic voice or likeness without authorisation, directly targeting generative AI misuse.
Platform liability. Hosting services that monetise or materially benefit from unauthorised deepfakes face injunctive relief and statutory damages up to $150,000 per performance if they fail to act after notice.
Industry coalition support. Tennessee partnered with the Recording Industry Association of America, Academy of Country Music, and artist collectives, signalling sustained enforcement pressure from rights-holders.

Control alignment

GDPR and state privacy laws. Treat consent records for voice and biometric likeness as special-category data—map them into retention schedules and lawful-basis assessments.
Content authenticity frameworks. Extend C2PA or similar provenance manifests to session recordings and generated assets so takedown requests can cite verifiable metadata.
Third-party risk. Update vendor contracts with clear obligations for AI training, watermarking, and notice so distributors cannot offload liability.

Detection and response priorities

Monitor social platforms, UGC marketplaces, and streaming services for AI-generated vocals tied to rostered artists; escalate to legal once authenticity tooling flags policy violations.
Instrument takedown trackers that log notification timestamps, evidence packages, and platform responses for potential litigation exhibits.

Enablement moves

Roll out artist education programs covering how the ELVIS Act protects studio sessions, promotional content, and fan experiences starting July 2025.
Deploy consent and provenance APIs across label CRM, licensing, and distribution systems so cleared derivatives can be shipped quickly while blocking unapproved training requests.

Sources

Zeph Tech engineers provenance, consent, and takedown automation so entertainment brands can comply with Tennessee’s AI safeguards while protecting catalog value.