Elon Musk’s xAI Challenges Minnesota Law Banning ‘Nudify’ Apps, Citing Free Speech Concerns

Last updated: July 29, 2026 9:08 am

3 days ago

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Elon Musk’s xAI has filed a lawsuit against Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, challenging a new state law that bans “nudify” apps. xAI argues the law is an overbroad restriction on free speech and visual expression tools. The Minnesota law targets apps that generate non-consensual sexualized imagery, imposing significant fines for violations.

This legal challenge by xAI, which is owned by SpaceX, comes amidst its own legal troubles, including allegations of its Grok AI chatbot being used to create child sexual abuse materials. The company maintains it prohibits such uses and actively pursues violators.

Elon Musk's xAI Challenges Minnesota Law Banning 'Nudify' Apps, Citing Free Speech Concerns

Elon Musk's artificial intelligence venture, xAI, now integrated with SpaceX, has filed a lawsuit against Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. The legal action challenges a recently enacted state law aimed at banning so-called "nudify" apps, which allow users to create non-consensual sexualized imagery. xAI argues that the statute infringes upon free speech rights and the tools of visual expression.

In their complaint, filed in federal court, xAI's attorneys stated that the Minnesota law "imposes an overbroad, content-based ban on free speech and the tools of visual expression in a clumsy attempt to prohibit 'nudification.'" The law, set to take effect soon, targets applications and websites that enable the generation of non-consensual sexualized imagery, imposing fines of $500,000 for each instance of a user creating explicit deepfakes. This legislation was reportedly inspired by a case where a man used social media photos of over 80 women he knew to create sexualized images and videos without their consent.

xAI's legal team contends that the law violates First Amendment protections and that the penalties are excessively severe. They highlighted that a business whose users generated 100,000 prohibited images could face fines totaling an "eye-popping $50 billion dollars." State Senator Erin Maye Quade, who championed the bill, drew parallels to existing laws against voyeurism.

This lawsuit follows a similar legal challenge xAI filed against a California law designed to regulate AI-generated "deepfake" content. A previous federal court ruling partially succeeded in striking down that California law, particularly concerning restrictions during elections.

The legal battle comes as xAI itself faces scrutiny. A proposed class-action lawsuit alleges that its Grok AI chatbot and image generator have been misused to create and distribute child sexual abuse materials (CSAM). The suit also claims xAI failed to report alleged perpetrators who used Grok to "nudify" images.

xAI maintains that it strictly prohibits the generation of non-consensual nude or sexualized images and actively pursues legal action against users who bypass its technological safeguards. The company emphasized its commitment to preventing such misuse through extensive technological blockers and legal recourse against violators.

Watch: The alarming rise of 'nudify' apps.