Elon Musk‘s artificial intelligence company this week filed a lawsuit challenging Minnesota‘s new law banning “nudification” technology, arguing it violates the First Amendment right to free speech.
The lawsuit from xAI comes after Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) signed legislation into law that takes effect Saturday, banning apps and websites that can create fake, sexualized pictures of people without consent. In response, the technology company sued Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, asserting that the “clumsy” law is overly broad and restricts the right to free speech guaranteed under the Constitution. The law, which is the first such measure in the nation, could cost X’s Grok and companies whose users created 100,000 prohibited images “an eye-popping $50 billion dollars,” xAI’s attorneys said.
While it “does not contest Minnesota’s interest in prohibiting the dissemination of artificially generated nude images of real people without their consent,” the law goes “far beyond that goal,” leading to a “wide array of protected speech to civil liability and government sanctions,” the 38-page lawsuit said.
xAI expressed concern that the new law bans depictions of men without shirts, people in shorts or swimsuits, and other depictions “far beyond what an ordinary person would consider ‘nudification.'” The company is also unfairly held liable if the persons depicted consented to the creation of the image, or if the image has “artistic, scientific, political, satirical, educational, medical, or religious value,” court filings said. There is no “safe harbor” provision for companies, making AI providers liable regardless of policies they already have in place prohibiting users from using the tool for nudification, Musk’s company added, noting that xAI and other providers will be subjected to a penalty of $500,000 per violation.
The law is set to take effect this weekend after the Minnesota House passed the bill 132-1 and the Minnesota Senate 65-0 during the 2026 legislative session. Proponents, led by Democratic state Sen. Erin Maye Quade, have argued the measure seeks to target pornographic content.
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“My bill simply requires that apps, platforms, and websites have the nudification functions turned off,” Quade said.
xAI argued in court that it already “strictly prohibits its users from generating nude or sexualized images of people without their consent,” noting it previously “filed suit against users who evade its extensive technological blockers to generate such images.”
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
