Elon Musk's xAI Sues to Block Minnesota's First AI Nudity Law

Elon Musk's AI company, xAI, is taking Minnesota to court to stop the first US law aimed at "AI nudification" — software that uses artificial intelligence to digitally strip clothing from real photos of real people.

The lawsuit, filed Monday against Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, challenges a law called HF 1606, which takes effect this Saturday, August 1. xAI argues the law is too broad and violates the First Amendment (the part of the US Constitution that protects free speech).

Here's what makes the law so strict:

• Fines of up to $500,000 per image created that shows a real person's private body parts they never actually exposed.
• No "safe harbor" — meaning companies get no legal protection even if they actively try to block this kind of misuse.
• Strict liability (being legally responsible no matter what you knew or intended) — so even if a user sneaks past a company's filters, the company is still fully on the hook.

Interestingly, xAI says it isn't defending nudification itself. Instead, it argues the law is so wide that it could punish harmless or even political content — like an AI image of a shirtless politician or someone in a swimsuit, even for satire.

The company also points out that in 2026 it suspended over 50,000 accounts and filed more than 70,000 reports to a child-safety organization, leading to at least 244 arrests — yet none of that would protect it under the new law.

Why Minnesota passed the law: Lawmakers acted after a man used social media photos to create sexual images of more than 80 women he knew. The bill passed almost unanimously.

This isn't xAI's first legal battle. Its Grok image tool has faced deepfake-related lawsuits from Baltimore, Tennessee minors, and regulators in Europe and Australia.

The bottom line: xAI wants a federal judge to block the law before it starts. Attorney General Ellison is standing firm, saying AI nudification "robs the target of their dignity." The outcome could shape how AI companies are held responsible across the US.

This is an AI-generated summary. Read the original article at: https://decrypt.co/374728/elon-musk-xai-sues-minnesota-ai-nudification-law