xAI fails to block Minnesota's nudification ban, fining $500K per view

Minnesota's nation-leading nudification ban took effect Saturday, imposing unprecedented penalties on any app—AI-based or not—that alters photos to expose intimate body parts. The law defines nudification as one-click, non-artistic alteration, drawing its 'intimate parts' definition from state statute: primary genital area, groin, inner thigh, buttocks, or breast. Victim lawsuits are allowed, and fines reach $500,000 per generated image—and again each time someone accesses it, so a single viral deepfake could rack up tens of millions in penalties. The scope intentionally captures automated tools like xAI's Grok, but not manual Photoshop work.

Just before the law went live, U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank denied xAI's request for a temporary restraining order, which would have blocked enforcement while the company sues the Minnesota Attorney General. xAI argued the law is so broad it covers harmless AI fun, citing generated images of Trump officials in bathing suits and a sumo-wrestling matchup between Chris Christie and J.D. Pritzker. But Frank noted xAI filed July 29, 2026—three months after the law was signed and just three days before it took effect, adding that 'such a delay suggests harm is not immediate.' Grok gained notoriety over the holidays for generating sexualized images of real people, with one estimate claiming 23,000 such images of children; xAI says it has since curtailed those capabilities.