Judge refuses xAI's request to stop a Minnesota law banning 'nudify' apps

A federal judge has denied xAI's last-minute attempt to halt a new Minnesota law that would prohibit apps and websites from generating nonconsensual intimate imagery. US District Judge Donovan Frank ruled against xAI's request, stating that the law's enforcement poses no immediate harm. The lawsuit, filed by xAI on July 29, 2026, came just three days before the law was set to take effect on August 1.

Judge Frank acknowledged that xAI's delay in bringing the action suggests the harm is not instantaneous. Despite the denial, the lawsuit will proceed to a hearing on August 19 to determine if a preliminary injunction should be granted, which would prevent the law from taking effect. The law, the first of its kind in the country, would ban apps and websites from creating adult AI deepfakes and impose fines of $500,000 per instance of generating a nonconsensual intimate image. xAI argued that the law is an overbroad, content-based ban on free speech, but the judge disagreed, finding no immediate harm caused by its enforcement.