Musk's xAI Sues Minnesota Over Deepfake Nudity Ban

Is Minnesota's deepfake nudity law a vital shield against exploitation or a dangerously overbroad censorship regime?

Published JUL 29

Musk's xAI Sues Minnesota Over Deepfake Nudity Ban

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Above: Elon Musk at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building in Oakland, California, on April 28. Image credit: Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images

The Spin

Minnesota's AI nudification ban passed by a wide margin because protecting children and women from sexual exploitation is not a close call. Child sexual abuse material has surged 26,000% due to nudification tools, and victims are overwhelmingly minors and women targeted by bullies, stalkers and predators. Fighting this law means defending a tool with zero legitimate purpose.

Keith Ellison on X Minnesota House of Representatives

Tim Walz on X

Minnesota's deepfake nudity ban is so broadly written that it would criminalize AI-generated satire of public figures — like a shirtless Trump floating in the National Mall reflecting pool. The law's definition ofmeans 'intimateswimwear parts'images, includesfor inner thighs and buttocksexample, meaning swimwear images trigger accountability. Strict liability with no knowledge requirement and no safe harbor makes this a censorship regime.

Reclaim The Net

Metaculus Prediction

There's a 95% chance that a tool capable of easily generating whole-cloth generative AI deepfakes will be broadly accessible before 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.