Elon Musk's xAI Company Sues Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison Over New Nudification Law
Elon Musk's xAI company filed a federal lawsuit against Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison to challenge a new state law that bans apps and websites capable of generating non-consensual sexualized imagery. The company argues that the statute imposes an overbroad, content-based ban on free speech and violates First Amendment protections. While xAI acknowledges the state's interest in preventing unauthorized nude images, it contends that the law makes providers strictly liable for all nudification, even when users consent or when the images have artistic, scientific, or religious value. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison defended the law, stating that AI nudification can rob individuals of their dignity and cause significant emotional and professional harm. The law, which is set to take effect on August 1, levies a $500,000 fine for each time a user creates an explicit deepfake. xAI seeks a court order to declare the law unconstitutional and prevent Minnesota from enforcing it, arguing that the penalties are excessively steep and the definition of 'intimate part' is too broad. The administration announced a plan to challenge state-level AI laws to avoid a patchwork of conflicting regulations.