Musk’s xAI fails to block Minnesota’s AI “nudification” ban
The court determined that “public interest tips steeply in favor of the State".
Image by Shutterstock.
- A federal judge refused to pause Minnesota’s ban on AI tools that create nonconsensual fake nude images.
- xAI argued the law restricts free speech and could punish companies despite prevention efforts.
- The law remains in effect and allows civil penalties of up to $500,000 per unlawful use.
- The judge said public interest favored Minnesota and xAI had not shown it faced lasting harm.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
Elon Musk’s xAI has failed to block Minnesota from enforcing its law banning the use of AI tools for generating nonconsensual nude images.
Minnesota’s first-of-its-kind law prohibits websites, apps, and software programs from allowing users to generate nonconsensual fake nude images or videos with AI. Advertising such services is also prohibited.
The law went into effect on August 1st, imposing civil penalties of up to $500,000 for each unlawful access, download, or use.
Musk’s xAI filed a lawsuit against Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, arguing that the statute "imposes an overbroad, content-based ban on free speech and the tools of visual expression."
xAI said that while it doesn’t contest Minnesota’s interest in prohibiting the dissemination of AI-generated non-consensual nude images, it believes that the law "extends far beyond that goal" and exposes a "wide array of protected speech to civil liability and government sanctions.”
The company sought a preliminary injunction, arguing that, as it stands, the law is unconstitutional because it restricts free speech. It also said that the law’s definition of "intimate part" is too broad and can include imagery "far beyond what an ordinary person would consider 'nudification.'"
Musk’s company also said that the law could make an AI firm “strictly liable” even if it actively tried to prevent people from using its tools to create fake nude images. According to xAI, a company could get in trouble even if the person consented to the creation – or if the generated image has "artistic, scientific, political, satirical, educational, medical, or religious value."
In response to the lawsuit, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz posted on X: “See you in court, creep.”
A federal judge declined to block the law on Friday, concluding that public interest in keeping the law weighed heavily in Minnesota’s favor. The judge also criticized xAI for waiting months to challenge the law and said the company failed to establish a threat of irreparable harm.
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Overall, the court determined that “public interest tips steeply in favor of the State,” according to the memorandum.
"I am extremely proud to be defending this law, and along with it, the dignity of the people of Minnesota," said Attorney General Keith Ellison. "Minnesota's landmark, overwhelmingly bipartisan and nearly unanimously approved law banning AI technology products, like X.AI's Grok Imagine, from generating nudified and other sexual images continues to be in effect."
