Elon Musk's xAI Loses Bid to Block Minnesota's Anti-Deepfake Law

TechCrunch reports that a federal judge has denied xAI's request to block Minnesota's new law banning so-called "nudify" apps — AI tools that generate non-consensual fake nude images of real people. The ruling allows the state to enforce the ban immediately while xAI's legal challenge works through the courts.

xAI, the AI company founded by Elon Musk, argued the law amounted to unconstitutional restrictions on free speech. The judge disagreed — at least for now — refusing to issue a preliminary injunction that would have put enforcement on hold pending the outcome of the lawsuit.

Minnesota's law targets a specific and harmful category of AI application: tools that alter images of real individuals without consent to generate fake nudes. The case is an early test of how federal courts will draw the line between AI innovation and harm prevention — and how far First Amendment arguments can stretch when the speech in question is a fabricated nude of a real person.

State-level AI legislation has been multiplying. Whether this ruling holds — and whether xAI ultimately prevails on the merits — will likely influence how aggressively other states move to regulate similar tools.

Read the full story at TechCrunch