Suit argues Minnesota law extends beyond nonconsensual deepfakes
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI filed a lawsuit Monday in federal court in Minnesota challenging the state’s new law that bans websites and apps from using AI to create nude images of real people without their consent. The Associated Press reported the law is the first state measure of its kind in the nation.
The law, signed in May, is set to take effect Saturday. It subjects companies to a penalty of $500,000 per violation, according to the lawsuit. The law targets technology that lets people use AI to create fake nude images of real people, a practice the AP described as increasingly proliferating.
In its 38-page lawsuit, xAI — whose Grok AI chatbot and image generator is available on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, and elsewhere — said it does not contest the state’s interest in banning the distribution of AI-generated nude images of real people without their consent.
The company argued that Minnesota’s law “extends far beyond that goal,” banning many constitutionally protected images and video.
The case potentially provides a test for how far states can go in constitutionally regulating the use of artificial intelligence, the AP reported.