Minnesota's ban on services that create nonconsensual sexualized images can take effect while xAI continues its legal challenge. U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank denied the company's request for an immediate temporary restraining order.
The timing played a central role. Minnesota signed the law nearly three months earlier, but xAI filed its emergency request on July 29, only three days before the August 1 effective date. Frank wrote that the delay suggested the alleged harm was not immediate enough to justify emergency relief.
The lawsuit is still active
The order does not decide whether Minnesota's law is constitutional. It only rejects xAI's attempt to stop enforcement before the court can hear fuller arguments. The judge converted the dispute into an expedited preliminary-injunction process, with a hearing scheduled for August 19.
xAI argues that the law is too broad and that Minnesota could address harmful uses through less restrictive measures. The state says stronger rules are needed to prevent tools from producing intimate images without a person's consent.
The dispute follows widespread criticism of generative-image systems that can remove clothing or create sexualized depictions from ordinary photos. Grok, xAI's chatbot, became part of that debate after users generated and circulated nonconsensual images through X.
Minnesota's approach is closely watched because it targets the services enabling this output, not only the people who distribute harmful images. The eventual ruling could influence how other states write AI safety laws and how platforms design access controls, moderation, and age protections.
For now, the law is active and xAI must continue its case without emergency protection from enforcement.
