Musk's xAI sues Minnesota over law banning 'nudify' apps

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Elon Musk's xAI, now owned by SpaceX, has sued Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison to challenge a state law that would ban so-called nudify apps.

In a complaint filed in federal court in Minnesota on Monday, attorneys for xAI argued that the statute "imposes an overbroad, content-based ban on free speech and the tools of visual expression in a clumsy attempt to prohibit 'nudification.'"

Key Details of the Minnesota Law

• The law takes effect on Saturday and targets apps and websites that enable users to generate non-consensual sexualized imagery.
• It levies $500,000 fines each time a user creates explicit deepfakes.
• The law was passed in April and spearheaded by Minnesota state Sen. Erin Maye Quade, after she learned about a man who created sexualized images and videos of over 80 women he knew, using their social media photos without their consent.

xAI's Legal Arguments

Lawyers for xAI claim the law violates First Amendment protections and that the penalties are excessively steep. They noted that a business whose users created 100,000 prohibited images could face "an eye-popping $50 billion dollars" in fines.

Background and Related Legal Challenges

SpaceXAI, as the artificial intelligence business is now known, is also facing a proposed class action lawsuit from plaintiffs who allege that the company's Grok AI chatbot and image generator were used to create and share child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) based on real photos or videos of them. The suit further alleges that xAI failed to share information with authorities about alleged perpetrators who used Grok to "nudify" their images.

Musk's company argues that it "strictly prohibits" users from generating nude or sexualized images of people without their consent. In its Minnesota complaint, the company noted that it has filed suit against users who "evade its extensive technological blockers to generate such images in violation."

Responses from Lawmakers

In an emailed statement, Sen. Maye Quade said the law protects First Amendment rights, adding: "It's sad that the creators of nudification technology would rather protect their ill-gotten profits than protect us from image-based sexual abuse."

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat, wrote in a social media post: "See you in court, creep."

Previous Legal Action

xAI filed a similar suit to challenge a California law intended to thwart AI-generated, or "deepfake," content in the state. That effort was partly successful, as a federal judge struck down the law that would have restricted AI-generated deepfakes during elections.

WATCH: Alarming rise of 'nudify' apps

Watch now | VIDEO | 16:55 Victims speak out about the harm of AI-powered 'nudify' tools

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