Minnesota law banning nudification apps takes effect after court rejects xAI's injunction request

A Minnesota law that bans applications capable of creating nudified images of recognizable individuals went into effect on Saturday. The statute defines nudification as the alteration of a photo to expose intimate parts, including the primary genital area, groin, inner thigh, buttocks, or breast, and imposes fines of up to $500,000 for each instance the altered image is accessed.

District Court Judge Donovan Frank rejected a last-minute request from xAI, the artificial-intelligence division of Elon Musk’s companies, for a temporary restraining order that would have paused enforcement of the law.

"xAI filed the motion on July 29, 2026, nearly three months after the law was signed, and only three days before the law is set to take effect," the judge wrote, noting that the timing suggested the alleged harm was not immediate.

xAI’s lawsuit against the Minnesota Attorney General argues that the law’s broad language could encompass a range of AI-generated images, including depictions of public figures in swimwear or other attire. The company contended that the statute might restrict lawful and innocuous uses of AI image generation.

The legislation requires that the image alteration be performed automatically, without artistic skill, thereby excluding traditional photo-editing performed manually. Violations could trigger civil lawsuits from victims in addition to the statutory fines.