What happened
The News International reports that a federal judge denied xAI’s motion for a preliminary injunction, allowing Minnesota to enforce its law against AI-generated non-consensual deepfake pornography while xAI’s constitutional challenge continues.
The News International reports that xAI sued Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison over House File 1606, arguing that the statute is overly broad, burdens protected speech such as satire and creative expression, and unfairly shifts liability toward AI-platform developers.
According to the report, the judge rejected xAI’s request after finding that Minnesota has a compelling interest in addressing harms, privacy violations, and dignity loss associated with non-consensual sexual deepfakes. The law authorizes penalties of up to $500,000 per violation, the outlet reports.
The report says a prior July request by Musk to stop the law from taking effect was also rejected, although the court agreed to fast-track review. The supplied source does not identify the judge, provide the ruling text, or independently establish the legal reasoning beyond the outlet’s account.
Source details: thenews.com.pk ↗
Why it matters
The decision keeps one of the most consequential state restrictions on generative AI imagery in force and places platform liability, user safety, and free-expression claims at the center of an ongoing legal test.
The ruling leaves Minnesota’s restrictions operative during the litigation. That matters because the law targets both creators and platforms built or marketed to digitally undress people or generate explicit non-consensual imagery, according to The News International.
The case could help clarify how courts balance laws addressing AI-enabled sexual abuse against First Amendment claims involving software providers, satire, and creative uses. The source does not establish how the law will affect lawful image-generation products, how enforcement will be prioritized, or whether other states will follow Minnesota.
The report also links the dispute to criticism of xAI’s Grok chatbot over sexually explicit content, but it does not independently verify specific outputs, the extent of any guardrails, or the law’s measurable effect on abuse.
What to watch next
The next significant development is the broader constitutional case, including whether xAI appeals or seeks further relief and how Minnesota applies the law in practice.
Watch for further proceedings in xAI’s constitutional challenge, including a possible appeal or a final ruling on the statute. The supplied report does not state the schedule for those proceedings.
Minnesota’s enforcement actions will show whether the statute is applied primarily to developers and platforms, individual users, or both. The report does not identify any enforcement action, fine, product shutdown, or compliance deadline resulting from this ruling.
No change in product access, availability, or pricing is documented. The source also does not independently confirm the court order through a public filing or describe whether xAI has changed Grok’s image-generation safeguards.