(a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the “Personal Privacy Protection Act.”

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class B misdemeanorup to 6 monthsup to $500
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111
criminal case

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 39-13-612

  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Code: includes the Tennessee Code and all amendments and revisions to the code and all additions and supplements to the code. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • Donor: The person who makes a gift.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Government: means the state or any political subdivision of the state, and includes any branch or agency of the state, a county, municipality or other political subdivision. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Person: includes the singular and the plural and means and includes any individual, firm, partnership, copartnership, association, corporation, governmental subdivision or agency, or other organization or other legal entity, or any agent or servant thereof. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Services: includes labor, skill, professional service, transportation, telephone, mail, gas, electricity, steam, water, cable television, entertainment subscription service or other public services, accommodations in hotels, restaurants or elsewhere, admissions to exhibitions, use of vehicles or other movable property, and any other activity or product considered in the ordinary course of business to be a service, regardless of whether it is listed in this subdivision (a)(38) or a specific statute exists covering the same or similar conduct. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) As used in this section:

(1) “Law enforcement agency” means a lawfully established state or local public agency that is responsible for the prevention and detection of crime, local government code enforcement, and the enforcement of penal, traffic, regulatory, game, or controlled substance laws;
(2) “Nonfinancial support” means gifts of securities, real property, services, or other in-kind donations;
(3) “Personal information” means the name and data of any kind that directly or indirectly identifies a person as a member, supporter, or volunteer of, or donor of financial or nonfinancial support to, any entity exempt from federal income tax under § 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code; and
(4) “Public agency” means any state or local governmental unit, department, or agency, however designated, which requires an entity exempt from federal income tax under § 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code to provide the public agency with the names and other personal information of its members, supporters, volunteers, or donors.
(c) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, and subject to subsections (e), (g), and (h), a public agency shall not:

(1) Release, publicize, or otherwise publicly disclose personal information in possession of that public agency; and
(2) Require an entity exempt from federal income tax under § 501 (c) of the Internal Revenue Code to provide the names or other personal information of persons who have provided financial or nonfinancial support to the exempt entity.
(d) A public agency may share personal information with a federal agency as required by federal law. However, personal information shared pursuant to this subsection (d) is otherwise subject to the requirements of subsection (c) and is not a public record pursuant to title 10, chapter 7.
(e) This section does not preclude:

(1) A report or disclosure required by title 2, chapter 10;
(2) A report or disclosure required by title 3, chapter 6;
(3) The disclosure of personal information amongst law enforcement agencies pursuant to an active investigation;
(4) A lawful warrant for personal information issued by a court of competent jurisdiction;
(5) A lawful request for discovery of personal information in litigation if the following conditions are met:

(A) The requestor demonstrates a compelling need for the personal information by clear and convincing evidence; and
(B) The requestor obtains a protective order barring disclosure of the personal information to any person not named in the litigation;
(6) Admission of personal information as relevant evidence before a court of competent jurisdiction. However, the court shall issue a protective order barring disclosure of the personal information to any person not named in the litigation;
(7) A state agency from requesting or disclosing personal information as required by federal or state law;
(8) A lawful request for discovery of personal information in litigation to demonstrate that a party has standing to bring or appeal any action; or
(9) The enforcement of title 48, chapter 101, part 5, by the appropriate state officials.
(f) A person who knowingly violates this section commits a Class B misdemeanor.
(g) The comptroller of the treasury or the comptroller’s designated representative shall have access to personal information for purposes of audit or investigation, but that personal information is otherwise subject to the requirements of subsection (c) and is not a public record pursuant to title 10, chapter 7.
(h) A state agency or the agency’s designated representative shall have access to personal information for purposes of conducting an audit, monitoring, verifying eligibility for benefits, conducting a background check, or conducting an investigation, but that personal information is otherwise subject to the requirements of subsection (c) and is not a public record pursuant to title 10, chapter 7.
(i) An institution of higher education is not subject to this section.
(j) This section does not apply to a national securities association that is registered pursuant to Section 15A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. § 78o-3), as amended, or regulations adopted under the Act, or any information such national securities association provides to the commissioner of commerce and insurance pursuant to title 48, chapter 1, and rules promulgated pursuant to that chapter.
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