xAI challenges Minnesota law banning 'nudify' apps

xAI, now officially known as SpaceXAI after merging with SpaceX, has filed a lawsuit against Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison to challenge the state's new law. The law bans apps and websites that generate nonconsensual intimate images and fines developers $500,000 each time a user uses them to create sexual deepfakes. The law, the first of its kind in the nation, was approved by Gov. Tim Walz earlier this year and is set to take effect in August 2026.

In its complaint, the company argues the law is an "overbroad, content-based ban on free speech" in a clumsy attempt to prohibit "nudification." xAI states it is not contesting Minnesota's interest in prohibiting the dissemination of artificially generated nude images of real people without consent, but claims the law "extends far beyond that goal, exposing a wide array of protected speech to civil liability and government sanction."

The company has faced criticism since the start of the year after reports emerged that it allowed users to transform photos of real women and children into sexualized images. Multiple regulators, including California, UK's Ofcom, the European Commission, and Ireland's Data Protection Commission, launched investigations. Even after implementing measures to prevent nonconsensual deepfakes, the system still allowed users to undress people. xAI recently sued a user from South Carolina for using Grok to generate nonconsensual intimate imagery.

xAI argues that the law would leave it "no practical choice but to restrict Grok Imagine's image-editing features" when the statute takes effect on August 1, 2026, which would "chill" protected speech. The company is asking the court to declare the law unconstitutional and prevent enforcement. Ellison responded on X, stating that "AI nudification robs the target of their dignity and could cause them immense harm" and added, "See you in court, creep."