ST. PAUL, Minnesota — Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company has asked a federal court to block Minnesota’s first-in-the-nation prohibition on AI tools that create sexually explicit images of people without their consent.
The law, scheduled to take effect Saturday, prohibits platforms from offering or enabling “nudification” technology and allows penalties of up to $500,000 per violation. It passed Minnesota’s politically divided House 132-1 and cleared the Senate unanimously, reflecting unusually broad agreement over the harm caused by nonconsensual sexual deepfakes.
xAI argues that the statute is written so broadly that it could restrict lawful satire, art, scientific imagery and political expression protected by the First Amendment. The company said it does not oppose outlawing the distribution of nonconsensual explicit images but contends Minnesota’s definitions extend beyond that purpose.
Attorney General Keith Ellison called AI-generated nude images created against someone’s will “appalling” and said his office would answer the lawsuit in court. Democratic Rep. Jess Hanson, the bill’s chief House author, accused Musk’s company of challenging protections intended primarily for women and children targeted by digital sexual exploitation.
The complaint says Grok’s terms already prohibit pornographic depictions of real people and child sexual abuse material. xAI is seeking a declaration that the law is unconstitutional and an injunction preventing Ellison from enforcing it against the company.
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