JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Minnesota has banned AI that lets users depict real people as naked in fake photos or videos without their permission. The law takes effect this weekend, but is facing a challenge from Elon Musk's company, claiming it infringes on free speech. Minnesota Public Radio's Dana Ferguson reports.
DANA FERGUSON, BYLINE: A little more than two years ago, Megan Hurley got a call from her friend, telling her...
MEGAN HURLEY: A man I once considered a dear friend had used an easily accessible website to make disturbing nude photos and videos of me and many women I know.
FERGUSON: It turned out the Minnesota man used photos of dozens of acquaintances to produce AI deepfake nude images without their consent. And law enforcement couldn't help, she said. The impacts reverberated through their lives.
HURLEY: I've been in a state of grief, rage or despair since then. There isn't room for much else. I have never taken nudes. I have never exchanged nudes with anyone. But now there are convincing pornographic images and videos of me somewhere online forever.
FERGUSON: Hurley and her friend shared their stories this week in a press conference with supporters of the law, which passed the legislature almost unanimously. It prohibits what's called nudification technology and lets people portrayed in the images sue AI companies for damages. The state could fine the companies for half a million dollars for each illegal use. Supporters say it's the first law like this in the country. Here's state Senator Erin Maye Quade.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ERIN MAYE QUADE: This technology will be illegal in Minnesota, and the Big Tech corporations that profit off of image-based sexual abuse will be held accountable.
FERGUSON: Some AI companies worked with the lawmakers when they drafted the bill. They are not suing. But this week, xAI sued, saying the law violates the rights of the company and Minnesotans who use its AI model, Grok. The lawsuit includes a fake image of President Donald Trump and Cabinet members in swimsuits posted by Trump as an example of what it claims is satire the law could criminalize. The company didn't respond to an interview request for this story, but some experts also question whether the law puts too much of a burden on the tech firms.
EUGENE VOLOKH: Even if they use kind of industry-standard, state-of-the-art technology to try to prevent nudification, if something gets through, then in that case, they could potentially be liable.
FERGUSON: Eugene Volokh is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He agrees the law could restrict the rights of users in the state.
VOLOKH: You could imagine the court saying, this law is too broad - it's unconstitutional. But if the legislature comes back and provides a narrower law, that might be constitutional.
FERGUSON: Supporters of the law say it makes exceptions for artistic uses, and the penalties would only come if the person depicted looks realistic enough that people would think it's them, even though it's fake. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has said he'll defend the law in court. On X, he said using AI to create nude images of people against their will is appalling. For NPR News, I'm Dana Ferguson in St. Paul.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.