A federal judge in Minnesota refused Friday to block the state's first-in-the-nation ban on AI-generated fake nude images while a constitutional challenge from Elon Musk's xAI moves forward. The decision keeps the law in effect for now, preserving a measure that lawmakers passed with near-unanimous support to combat what Attorney General Keith Ellison called "repulsive behavior."
The legal challenge and the court's reasoning
U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank denied xAI's request for a preliminary injunction against the law, which took effect August 1. The statute prohibits website operators, software developers, and others from letting users "nudify" images of identifiable people using AI technology. Frank ruled that xAI failed to show it would suffer harm while it pursues its lawsuit alleging the law violates the First Amendment by restricting protected expressive activity.
"The constitutional issues raised by the parties are complex, particularly when considered in the context of this new technology and the risks that it poses to the public," Frank wrote. "These issues deserve, and will receive, full consideration."
xAI said in a court filing Friday that it will appeal the order to the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The company and its lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Minnesota's bipartisan pushback
Ellison, a Democrat, described the law as "overwhelmingly bipartisan and nearly unanimously approved" by state lawmakers. He pointed to the broader harms the legislation targets. "These nudification apps have been used to generate child sexual abuse materials and harass people in the vilest ways imaginable," Ellison said. "That repulsive behavior is not welcome in Minnesota."
The judge had previously turned down Musk's bid in July to stop the law from taking effect but agreed to fast-track his review. Musk's Grok (from xAi) chatbot has faced criticism over its creation of sexually explicit content. Regulators have sought stronger safeguards and imposed bans to curb the spread of artificially created illegal material. xAI has also begun suing users it alleges are evading Grok's technological blockers to create sexual images of people without their consent.
Why this matters for legal professionals
The ruling signals that courts are willing to let states experiment with AI for Legal regulation while First Amendment questions percolate. For attorneys advising platform operators or AI developers, the Minnesota case will set an early benchmark on how far legislatures can go in restricting synthetic media tools. The 8th Circuit's eventual ruling could shape compliance obligations across multiple jurisdictions, especially as other states consider similar bills.
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