Minnesota bans AI 'nudification' feature; law set to take effect Saturday amid lawsuit

Sen. McQuaid announced that Minnesota will become the first state to ban AI tools that create "nudified" images and videos, saying the law "will be illegal in Minnesota" beginning Saturday and noting it passed with unanimous support in the Senate and near-unanimous support in the House. The senator framed the measure as a narrowly drawn ban on a technology she said facilitates image-based sexual abuse and child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Representative Jess Hansen, the House coauthor, said the bill is intended to hold platforms and specialized apps that profit from nonconsensual sexualized imagery accountable while protecting constitutionally protected art. Hansen cited international reporting, attributing a reported 26,000% increase in AI-created child sexual abuse material to the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), and said advocates played a central role in the bill's drafting and support.

Sponsors said the law includes explicit exceptions for images created with "substantial human means" to protect artistic expression and that it cross-references existing statutory language defining an "intimate part." Sen. McQuaid said the bill "regulates conduct" rather than artistic content and that general-purpose AI systems that lack the feature targeted by the ban were not implicated. She added civil penalties and a right of action were included so local prosecutors and attorneys general can seek remedies against companies that enable the conduct.

The announcement came as plaintiffs filed suit seeking emergency relief to block the law from taking effect; Sen. McQuaid said courts will decide whether a temporary restraining order is appropriate but expressed confidence the statute was carefully drafted to withstand judicial scrutiny. The sponsors and survivors said the law is intended to reduce a form of automated abuse they described as distinct from other online harms.