Minnesota's nudify app ban clears legal hurdle as federal judge rejects xAI challenge

Minnesota's first-in-the-nation ban on "nudify" apps will proceed as scheduled, after a federal judge rejected xAI's attempt to block the measure from taking effect, according to NBC News.

Legal timing proves decisive#

U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank's ruling centered partly on procedural concerns. The judge noted that xAI filed its request for a temporary restraining order on July 29, 2026—nearly three months after the law's enactment and just three days before its August 1 implementation date. Such a delay, Frank observed, undermines claims that immediate harm looms. "Such a delay in bringing the action and the motion suggests that harm is not immediate," the judge wrote.

The fight continues#

This decision does not end xAI's legal challenge. The company can continue its broader lawsuit while the law takes effect, arguing that the Minnesota statute is "overinclusive" and that alternative approaches exist to accomplish the same regulatory goals without such restrictions.

Context: deepfakes on X#

The ban emerged following widespread misuse of image-generation tools on X (formerly Twitter), where users created and distributed non-consensual sexualized deepfakes using Grok, xAI's chatbot. The controversy sparked investigations and blocks in multiple jurisdictions, including bans in Indonesia and scrutiny from California's attorney general.