xAI is suing Minnesota over a new law banning "nudify" apps, AI tools that generate fake nude images from real photos.
The law is set to take effect this weekend. xAI argues in its complaint that the ban restricts free speech and expression. The company has not made the full text of its lawsuit public, and specifics like which provisions it's challenging or what relief it's seeking remain unclear. This is a developing story.
It's a notable early test case: a major AI company squaring off against a state trying to regulate non-consensual AI-generated imagery, a category of law spreading fast as states move quicker than Congress on AI harms. How a court balances a free-speech claim against a nudify-app ban could set a precedent other states either follow or avoid.
Nudify apps have drawn bipartisan alarm for enabling harassment at scale, which makes "free speech" a tough banner to rally under, whatever the legal merits turn out to be.