Source: MPR News

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company x.AI LLC has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Minnesota challenging HF 1606, a state law that bans the use, advertisement, and dissemination of “nudification” technology that creates or posts deepfake images or videos of people naked without their consent. The complaint alleges the statute is “clumsy,” contends the law would substantially abridge users’ First Amendment rights with respect to Grok and Grok Imagine, and asks the court to place the statute on hold or strike it down. x.AI states in the filing that its policies already prohibit creating nude deepfakes without consent and warns that, should the law take effect, the platform will limit services for Minnesota users.

The law passed the Minnesota Legislature this year with nearly unanimous support and includes civil remedies for those portrayed along with possible penalties of $500,000 for each unlawful use, while carving out exceptions for works requiring technical or artistic skill. The company’s complaint includes satirical images of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk to illustrate alleged overbreadth, arguing HF 1606 could criminalize humorous, artistic, scientific, or innocuous images. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, named as a defendant, posted a statement calling AI nudification “appalling” and saying he will defend the law; sponsors Sen. Erin Maye Quade and Rep. Jess Hanson emphasized near‑unanimous legislative support and concerns about harms including uses in child pornography production. x.AI frames its suit around constitutional protections for speech and seeks judicial relief while the parties prepare for litigation.