Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company, xAI, has filed a lawsuit against Minnesota, challenging the state's new law that bans "nudification" technology on websites and apps. The suit, filed Monday in federal court, argues that the legislation, which was set to take effect Saturday, overreaches its intended purpose and imposes excessive penalties.
Minnesota's law, signed in May, aims to be the first in the nation to outlaw the use of AI to create fake nude images of real people. xAI, whose AI model Grok is available on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, stated in its 38-page lawsuit that it does not oppose the state's interest in prohibiting the distribution of AI-generated nude images without consent. However, the company contends that the law extends beyond this goal, banning constitutionally protected images and videos and subjecting the company to fines of $500,000 per violation.
The lawsuit further claims that the law lacks a "safe harbor" provision for companies that make good-faith efforts to prevent such images from being generated by users. It also argues that the definition of "intimate part" in the law is too broad, encompassing body parts that are commonly displayed in public.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, in a statement, said his office had not yet seen the lawsuit. He characterized the use of AI to generate nude images of people against their will as "appalling" and stated that "AI nudification robs the target of their dignity and can cause immense harm on an emotional, personal, and professional level."
This legal challenge arrives as state laws addressing AI-generated content, such as deepfakes, have faced mixed results in courts. A California law was previously blocked due to First Amendment speech protections.
xAI asserts that its terms of service prohibit users from engaging in illegal, harmful, or abusive activities, including altering images to create non-consensual nude or sexually explicit depictions. The company also stated it has "zero tolerance for any forms of child sexual exploitation, non-consensual nudity, and unwanted sexual content." To enforce these rules, xAI says it uses account suspensions or terminations and reports suspected child sexual abuse content.
Following a global backlash earlier this year over sexualized images, Grok announced measures to prevent the creation of explicit content. In January, the company stated it would geoblock content that violates local laws and implemented technological measures to prevent the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing where such actions are illegal.