A federal judge on July 31 denied xAI's emergency motion for a temporary restraining order against Minnesota's HF 1606, the first state law in the U.S. banning AI-powered nudification technology, clearing the way for the ban to take effect on August 1, 2026.
U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank ruled that xAI failed to demonstrate immediate harm from the law going into force while its broader constitutional challenge continues. The judge pointed to the company's timing — xAI filed its lawsuit on July 28 but waited until July 29 to seek emergency relief — as evidence the matter was not urgent enough to halt a democratically enacted statute. A preliminary injunction hearing is now scheduled for August 19, 2026.
"The court found there was little risk of immediate harm from the law going into effect," Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison's office said in a press release. The law, passed with a 132-1 margin in the Minnesota House, bans both the operation of nudification tools and the advertising of such capabilities within the state.
What the Law Covers
HF 1606 prohibits any digital tool or service that "removes clothing or undergarments from an image or video of an individual, generates a nude or partially nude image or video of an individual, or alters an image or video to make an individual appear nude." Violations carry civil penalties, and the law applies to any platform accessible in Minnesota.
The statute goes further than similar deepfake laws in other states by specifically targeting the technology category of nudification apps rather than just the nonconsensual distribution of deepfake nudes. This scope drew xAI's First Amendment challenge, with the company arguing the ban is overbroad and chills legitimate AI image-generation use cases.
Why It Matters for NSFW AI and Companion Platforms
The Minnesota ban directly targets the same "nudify" app category that has fueled a significant segment of the NSFW AI market. Several AI companion platforms integrate or offer image-generation features that could fall under the law's definition, and the ruling establishes that states can enforce such bans while constitutional questions remain unsettled.
For companion app developers, the decision creates immediate compliance pressure. Any platform offering image-generation tools accessible to Minnesota users must now assess whether features like clothing-removal, nude generation, or body-altering edits violate the statute. The law also bans advertising nudification capabilities, potentially restricting marketing for NSFW AI tools even if the actual generation features are disabled in-state.
xAI's Grok platform, which offers image-generation features that have previously been restricted after backlash over nonconsensual deepfakes, is the most prominent target. But the ruling sets a precedent that could embolden other states to enact similar bans, creating a compliance patchwork for the companion industry.
What's Next
The August 19 preliminary injunction hearing will address the substance of xAI's First Amendment arguments. If the court ultimately rules the law unconstitutional, it would overturn the nation's first nudification ban and potentially limit other states' ability to regulate the NSFW AI tool market. Until then, the law is enforceable, and companion platforms doing business in Minnesota must take note.