Elon Musk's xAI loses court bid in Minnesota "nudification" ban

A federal judge has upheld Minnesota’s ban on AI tools that can transform photos of real people into nude images and media, rejecting a bid by Elon Musk’s xAI to halt the statute while the company’s free-speech challenge plays out. The decision allows regulators to commence the fines of up to $500,000 per image right away.

U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank denied xAI’s request for a preliminary injunction, an order that would have suspended the law till the end of the lawsuit. Judge Donovan considered what he called the “balance of harms,” and found that “public interest tips steeply in favor of the State,” according to the memorandum quoted by CBS Minnesota.

The judge described a “civil statute aimed at protecting the public from the undisputed harm stemming from AI-nudification technology,” and said the statute was passed “democratically and nearly unanimously.” He was candid that the underlying First Amendment questions were, however, still complex, because of the context of a new technology, believing the case would be settled as it moves forward. For now, though, the ban remains upheld.

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