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MN lawmakers defend nudification ban after Musk lawsuit
Minnesota lawmakers and victim-survivor advocates defended a first-in-the-nation law set to take effect Aug. 1 banning nudification technology used to create nonconsensual sexual images. The news conference came one day after Elon Musk’s AI company xAI filed a lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order to block the law.
(FOX 9) - On the eve of a ban on the use of "nudification" tech set to begin, a U.S. District Court of Minnesota judge has denied a lawsuit for a temporary restraining order by an AI company founded by Elon Musk that would have blocked its implementation.
Minnesota nudification lawsuit
What we know:
Filed in U.S. District Court in Minnesota, the lawsuit argues that the new law, "imposes an overbroad, content-based ban on free speech and the tools of visual expression in a clumsy attempt to prohibit ‘nudification.'"
xAI filed the motion on July 29, 2026, nearly three months after the law was signed, and only three days before the law is set to take effect.
In the lawsuit, xAI argues that it already "strictly prohibits its users from generating nude or sexualized images of people without their consent," arguing that the company has previously "filed suit against users who evade its extensive technological blockers to generate such images."
Dig deeper:
In the decision, U.S. District Court Judge Donovan W. Frank ruled, "Such a delay in bringing the action and the motion suggests that harm is not immediate."
The ruling also says, "The Court [has] directed the parties to meet and confer on a potential agreement."
A hearing on an emergency motion for preliminary injunction, effectively a temporary court order made before a trial that stops a person or group from doing a specific action to keep things as they are until the lawsuit ends, on Aug. 19, 2026.
In the meantime, the restrictions signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz, and passed by the Minnesota Legislature, will remain in effect beginning Aug. 1.
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Minnesota cracks down on AI nudification
A new Minnesota law taking effect Aug. 1 makes it illegal to use artificial intelligence to create nude images of someone without their consent. Victoria Pickering from Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault joins us to explain what the law covers, why it was passed, and what Minnesotans should know.
The backstory:
Used by taking someone’s photo or video and turning them nude, the new law passed this past legislative session prohibits someone from accessing, downloading or using a website or app to nudify an image or video, or do so on behalf of someone else – allowing for a lawsuit for damages of at least $500,000 for each unlawful access.
It also bans advertisements or promotions of products that can nudify images or videos.
On July 29, Minnesota lawmakers held a press conference to say they were confident that a ban on nudification technology will survive a challenge being brought by Elon Musk's company.
Officially SpaceXAI as of Feb. 2, 2026, the company is a subsidiary of the spaceflight company SpaceX, and is said to be working in the area of artificial intelligence (AI).
The Source: FOX 9 reporting from the Minnesota Legislature.