US court halts AI nude-image ban challenged by Musk

An appeals court blocked a Minnesota law prohibiting AI-generated sexualized images after Elon Musk’s xAI argued that it is unconstitutional and violates free-speech protections A US appeals court has blocked Minnesota’s ban on AI-generated fake nude images, handing Elon Musk’s xAI an early victory in its free-speech challenge to the law.The state’s anti-nudification legislation – the first in the nation – which took effect last month, targets apps and websites that enable non-consensual sexualized deepfakes, with fines of up to $500,000 per image. It was spearheaded by state Senator Erin Maye Quade after a man allegedly used social media photos to create explicit images of more than 80 women without their consent. Quade likened the measure to longstanding laws against peeping through windows to take photographs.Musk’s xAI challenged the law in July on First Amendment grounds, calling it an “overbroad, content-based ban on free speech” and warning that penalties could run into the billions of dollars.This comes as the company faces allegations involving the content the law targets. A class-action lawsuit proposed earlier this year claims that xAI’s Grok Imagine was used to create a...