MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | Court Denies xAI’s Emergency Request to Stop Minnesota “Nudification” Law

ST. PAUL, MN (August 3, 2026). A federal judge has denied xAI’s emergency request to stop Minnesota from enforcing a law restricting artificial-intelligence technology that can create nude or sexualized images of identifiable people without their consent.

The ruling allowed the law to take effect August 1, but it did not resolve xAI’s broader constitutional challenge or determine whether the statute ultimately violates the First Amendment.

U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank denied the company’s request for an immediate temporary restraining order July 31.

Frank said xAI filed its emergency motion July 29, nearly three months after the law was signed and only three days before it was scheduled to take effect. The delay, he wrote, undermined the company’s assertion that immediate court intervention was necessary.

The judge will consider xAI’s request for a preliminary injunction under an expedited schedule.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison must respond to the company’s motion by August 12. xAI may file a reply by August 17.

A hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. August 19 at the federal courthouse in St. Paul.

The case is X.AI LLC v. Ellison, Civil No. 26-3425.

Minnesota’s law regulates digital services that provide access to technology capable of altering or generating images and videos to depict intimate body parts that did not appear in the original image of an identifiable person.

The legislation authorizes penalties of up to $500,000 per violation and provides a civil avenue through which victims may seek damages.

xAI argues that the statute is an overly broad, content-based restriction on constitutionally protected expression. The company contends that the law could reach artistic, educational, medical, political, satirical and scientific uses of image-generation technology.

Minnesota argues that the law is necessary to prevent nonconsensual sexual exploitation and the personal, professional and emotional harm caused by fabricated intimate images.

The court has not ruled on the merits of either position.

The distinction is important: Frank denied only xAI’s request for an immediate temporary order. The company’s motion for a preliminary injunction and its underlying lawsuit remain pending.

The complete federal court order is available through the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office.

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