Judge denies X.AI’s attempt to stop Minnesota’s AI nudification ban from taking effect
X.AI moved for a temporary restraining order, AG Ellison argued against it, and the court sided with AG Ellison
AG Ellison raised serious concerns about the “staggering amount child sexual abuse material produced” by nudification software in his response to X.AI
HF 1606 will take effect tomorrow, August 1
July 31, 2026 (SAINT PAUL) — Today, the courts rejected X.AI’s request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) that would have halted enforcement of Minnesota’s bipartisan, first-in-the-nation AI nudification ban. This ban was passed with near unanimous support in both the House and the Senate earlier this year – 197 lawmakers voted in favor of it and only 1 voted against it. The law challenged by X.AI bans the use of technology that generates fake nude images of real people.
“I am extremely proud to be defending this law, and along with it, the dignity of the people of Minnesota,” said Attorney General Ellison. “Minnesota’s landmark law banning the use of nudification technology will go into effect tomorrow as planned. These nudification apps, including Grok Imagine, have been used to generate child sexual abuse materials and harass people in the vilest ways imaginable. That repulsive behavior is not welcome in Minnesota.”
On July 27, 2026, X.AI sued the state of Minnesota, challenging the state’s nudification ban, which was scheduled to take effect on August 1, 2026. Two days later, X.AI asked the court for a temporary restraining order halting the enforcement of the law.
In his response to X.AI, Attorney General Ellison noted that X.AI waited until just a few days before the law was set to take effect to file its motion for a TRO. Temporary restraining orders require the plaintiff to demonstrate irreparable harm such that an emergency order is necessary. Since X.AI waited months to challenge the law, Attorney General Ellison argued that emergency action by the court was clearly unnecessary.
The court agreed, writing in its opinion denying X.AI’s request for a temporary restraining order that: “X.AI filed the motion on July 29, 2026, nearly three months after the law was signed, and only three days before the law is set to take effect. Such a delay in bringing the action and the motion suggests that harm is not immediate.”
In his filing, Attorney General Ellison also called attention to the urgent need for such a law, writing:
Minnesota’s Nudification Ban applies to AI-generated sexual images and other intimate parts—including the staggering amount child sexual abuse material that AI products like Grok Imagine generate. Indeed, several recent lawsuits have been filed against X.AI about this exact issue. Five children brought a class action against X.AI alleging that their photographs were used to create child porn on Grok Imagine. Two Arkansas families have sued X.AI in Arkansas federal court alleging that Grok was used to generate child porn of their daughters, who are under 15 years old. And a UK lawmaker who criticized X.AI owner, Elon Musk, sued the company because Grok users created fake images of her “being chlorophormed and prepared for sexual assault.”
The court set upcoming briefings and a hearing later in August and the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office will continue to vigorously defend the law and the Minnesotans it was written to protect from X.AI’s lawsuit.
