Judge allows Minnesota’s ban on AI ‘nudify’ apps to take effect despite xAI lawsuit

A U.S. District Court judge denied xAI’s request for a temporary restraining order, allowing Minnesota’s ban on AI ‘nudify’ apps to take effect on August 1, 2026. Judge Donovan Frank’s decision focused on the timing of xAI’s lawsuit, noting the company filed its motion on July 29, 2026—nearly three months after the law was signed and just days before the effective date. Frank wrote that the delay ‘suggests that harm is not immediate,’ though the underlying lawsuit will continue.

The Minnesota law is the first of its kind in the United States to prohibit apps that use AI to generate sexualized images of individuals without their consent. xAI had argued in its lawsuit that the ban is ‘overinclusive’ and that ‘there are far less restrictive alternatives that function to achieve the same ends.’

The legal dispute follows reports that users of xAI’s Grok chatbot and X’s platform generated and disseminated non-consensual sexualized images earlier this year, prompting investigations and account bans. The case raises questions about the balance between regulating AI misuse and preserving innovation, as well as the scope of state-level authority to restrict AI applications.