xAI, Elon Musk's AI company, has sued Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison in a bid to block a new state law targeting "nudification" apps just days before it takes effect. The company argues the statute is unconstitutional under the First Amendment, claiming its harsh penalties leave xAI with "no practical choice" but to restrict image-editing features on its Grok Imagine chatbot. The case follows widespread international criticism after Grok was used in January to generate millions of sexually explicit deepfakes, including images of minors, prompting investigations by the EU and UK and objections from French, Indian and Malaysian officials.

Minnesota's law, signed by Governor Tim Walz in May and due to take effect on 1 August, bans platforms from letting users "access, download, or use" nudification software, while exempting tools requiring genuine technical skill to manipulate images. It allows both private individuals to sue and the state attorney general to pursue penalties of up to $500,000 per violation. xAI waited nearly three months before filing suit, only doing so days before the deadline, and its complaint argues the law is overly broad because it could impose liability even for consensually created images or content with artistic or humorous merit.