Federal Judge Denies xAI's Request to Block Minnesota Deepfake Ban

A federal judge on Tuesday refused to issue a preliminary injunction that would have stopped Minnesota's new law banning "nudify" apps and websites from taking effect on August 1. U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank said the company xAI failed to demonstrate that the law would cause immediate harm, noting that the lawsuit was filed on July 29, nearly three months after the legislation was signed and only three days before its scheduled start date.

The judge wrote that the timing of the filing suggested the alleged injury was not imminent. While the request was denied, the case will continue, with a hearing set for August 19 to consider whether a preliminary injunction should be granted.

Minnesota's legislation makes it illegal to create or distribute AI-generated images or videos that depict intimate parts of an identifiable person when the alteration is realistic enough that a reasonable observer would believe the depiction is genuine. The law also imposes a $500,000 civil penalty on developers each time a user generates such nonconsensual content.

xAI argued that the statute constitutes an "overbroad, content-based ban on free speech and the tools of visual expression" and that it extends beyond preventing the spread of artificial nude images, potentially exposing protected speech to civil liability and government sanction.