The law is HF 1606. It makes any platform strictly liable—legally responsible regardless of knowledge or intent—if users generate realistic images of real people showing body parts those people never exposed. Each violation can cost up to $500,000, per image generated.
The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, isn't defending nudification exactly. "xAI accordingly does not contest Minnesota's interest in prohibiting the dissemination of artificially generated nude images of real people without their consent," the filing states. "But the statute Minnesota enacted extends far beyond that goal, exposing a wide array of protected speech to civil liability and government sanctions."
And there's no escape for platforms, per xAI’s arguments. "There is no safe harbor for good-faith efforts of the provider of general-purpose AI creative tools to avoid harms," the complaint reads. "Liability attaches even if the depicted persons consented—or created the image themselves—and even if the image is never shared."
There's also no scienter (knowledge of wrongdoing) requirement—a user sneaking past a company's own filters still makes the company fully liable under this law.
In 2026 alone the company suspended more than 50,000 accounts and filed more than 70,000 reports to NCMEC (the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children), leading to at least 244 arrests. None of that creates a defense under HF 1606.
The federal TAKE IT DOWN Act—signed by President Donald Trump in May 2025—already covers nonconsensual intimate deepfakes, but requires proof of nonconsent and actual distribution, uses a narrower body-part definition, and includes carve-outs for education and medical content. xAI argues that's the model Minnesota should have adopted.
AG Ellison isn't backing down. "AI nudification robs the target of their dignity and can cause immense harm on an emotional, personal, and professional level," he said after the lawsuit was filed.
HF 1606 takes effect Saturday. xAI wants a federal judge to stop it before then.
