{"slug": "judge-denies-xais-request-to-pause-minnesota-nudification-ban", "title": "Judge denies xAI’s request to pause Minnesota nudification ban", "summary": "A federal judge denied xAI's request to pause Minnesota's HF 1606, a first-of-its-kind law imposing penalties of up to $500,000 per violation on AI companies whose tools generate non-consensual intimate imagery, allowing the law to take effect on August 1, 2026. xAI, led by Elon Musk, filed the lawsuit on July 27, 2026, arguing the statute is unconstitutionally broad, but the court declined to grant a preliminary injunction, leaving the constitutional challenge pending.", "body_md": "Via cnn.com\n\n# Judge denies xAI’s request to pause Minnesota nudification ban\n\nElon Musk's AI company failed to block a first-of-its-kind law imposing $500K penalties on companies whose tools generate non-consensual intimate imagery\n\nMinnesota’s ban on AI-generated non-consensual nude imagery is moving forward as planned, after a federal judge declined xAI’s bid to hit the brakes on the law before it takes effect on August 1, 2026.\n\nThe ruling means Elon Musk’s AI company, along with every other provider operating in the state, now faces potential penalties of up to $500,000 per violation under HF 1606.\n\n## What xAI argued, and why it didn’t work\n\nxAI filed its lawsuit on July 27, 2026, in the US District Court for Minnesota, just days before the law was set to kick in. The case, filed against Attorney General Keith Ellison, challenges HF 1606 on constitutional grounds.\n\nxAI says it supports efforts to prevent non-consensual deepfakes, but contends the law is excessively broad. The company argues the statute punishes AI providers regardless of what safeguards they’ve built or whether they had any intent to cause harm.\n\nUnder HF 1606, if your AI tool can generate or alter images to depict someone in intimate scenarios without consent, you’re on the hook regardless of how many content filters you’ve deployed.\n\nxAI sought both declaratory relief, asking the court to rule the statute unconstitutional under the First Amendment, and a preliminary injunction to freeze enforcement while the case plays out. The judge denied the injunction request, meaning the law will be enforceable starting August 1.\n\n## Minnesota’s bipartisan bet on AI regulation\n\nThe Minnesota House passed HF 1606 132-1. The Senate went 65-0.\n\nMinnesota already had laws criminalizing the distribution of non-consensual deepfake content. HF 1606 extends the regulatory perimeter upstream, targeting the companies that build the tools, not just the people who misuse them. This positions Minnesota as the first state to impose direct liability on AI companies for nudification capabilities.\n\nPrior litigation in 2025 involving Musk-linked entities challenged earlier versions of Minnesota’s deepfake laws but failed to overturn them. The state’s track record of defending these statutes in court likely factored into the judge’s decision to let HF 1606 proceed.\n\nThe case remains in its early stages, with xAI’s constitutional challenge still pending on the merits. The denial of the preliminary injunction signals that the court isn’t convinced the company will ultimately prevail.\n\n**Disclosure:** This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our\n\n[Editorial Policy](https://cryptobriefing.com/editorial-policy/).", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/judge-denies-xais-request-to-pause-minnesota-nudification-ban", "canonical_source": "https://cryptobriefing.com/xai-minnesota-nudification-ban-denied/", "published_at": "2026-07-31 19:50:49+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-31 20:05:17.575029+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy", "generative-ai", "ai-ethics"], "entities": ["xAI", "Elon Musk", "Minnesota", "Keith Ellison", "HF 1606"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/judge-denies-xais-request-to-pause-minnesota-nudification-ban", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/judge-denies-xais-request-to-pause-minnesota-nudification-ban.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/judge-denies-xais-request-to-pause-minnesota-nudification-ban.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/judge-denies-xais-request-to-pause-minnesota-nudification-ban.jsonld"}}