A US federal appeals court has temporarily blocked Minnesota from enforcing its law against AI-generated fake nude images, handing Elon Musk’s xAI a legal victory as the company challenges the measure in court.
The 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals granted xAI’s request for an injunction, putting the state’s anti-“nudification” law on hold while the company’s lawsuit continues.
The Minnesota law, which took effect on August 1, prohibits website operators, software developers and other service providers from allowing users to create realistic images showing intimate parts of an identifiable person that were not present in the original photograph.
xAI has argued that the law violates free speech protections under the US Constitution and is challenging its enforcement.
The latest ruling came after a federal district judge in Minnesota rejected xAI’s earlier request to stop the law, finding that the company had not demonstrated the type of immediate harm required for emergency relief.
xAI appealed that decision, disputing the lower court’s conclusion that it had waited too long to challenge the legislation.
The company also told the appeals court that its Grok Imagine tool has safeguards designed to prevent users from creating sexualised or “nudified” images of real people without their consent.
xAI has separately taken legal action against users it accuses of bypassing Grok’s safeguards to produce sexual images of people without permission.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office expressed disappointment with the appeals court’s decision and said it would continue defending the law as xAI’s legal challenge moves forward.
“Minnesota’s nudification ban outlaws AI technology products from generating sexual images that harm and harass people in the vilest way possible,” Ellison spokesperson John Stiles said.
The state has argued that the law was introduced to address the rapid spread of harmful AI-generated sexual material, including child sexual abuse material.
The legislation was passed earlier this year and became the first state law specifically targeting AI “nudification” technology. A federal judge had previously allowed the law to remain in force after rejecting xAI’s request for a preliminary injunction. (ag.state.mn.us)
The legal dispute now moves forward as the appeals court considers xAI’s challenge to the Minnesota measure.
The case could also have wider implications for how US states regulate AI-generated sexual content and where the line should be drawn between preventing digital abuse and protecting constitutionally protected speech.
