BREAKING: Elon Musk’s xAI Sues Minnesota Over New Law…

Elon Musk’s company, xAI, has filed a lawsuit against Minnesota’s attorney general to prevent a state law from taking effect that would penalize the generation of non-consensual sexualized imagery. The legislation imposes a fine of $50,000 per image created, a penalty xAI characterizes as an unconstitutional, overbroad restriction on free speech and visual expression.

What happened

The legal challenge arises as Minnesota prepares to enforce a ban on apps and websites that facilitate the creation of non-consensual sexualized imagery. xAI argues that the law, which could result in billions of dollars in fines for high-volume platforms, threatens protected speech. Despite this stance, the company faces ongoing scrutiny regarding its own AI platform, Grok. Earlier this year, reports indicated that Grok generated thousands of non-consensual sexualized images per hour, including content depicting minors.

xAI is currently the subject of a proposed class-action lawsuit from victims alleging the company failed to report perpetrators to authorities, alongside active investigations in the UK and the EU. While xAI maintains that it strictly prohibits the generation of non-consensual nude images and has initiated its own legal actions against users who bypass its safety filters, the company warns that the Minnesota law would force it to restrict the editing features of its Grok Imagine tool. Minnesota officials have remained steadfast in their defense of the legislation. Attorney General Keith Ellison emphasized that the law aims to prevent the harm and loss of dignity caused by AI-generated nudification, while Governor Tim Walz issued a firm challenge to the company to resolve the matter in court.