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Laws of Minnesota 2026, Chapter 72 (H.F. 1606): prohibition on nudification technology (Minn. Stat. 325E.91)
Record US-MN-01 · Laws of Minnesota 2026, Chapter 72 (H.F. 1606); Minn. Stat. 325E.91
- Issued by
- Minnesota Legislature (94th Legislature, 2026 session; chief author Rep. J. Hanson); signed by the Governor
- Jurisdiction
- Minnesota (US)
- Level · region
- Sub-national · North America
- Country
- United States
- Published / adopted
- 2026-05-07
- In force
- 2026-08-01
- Language
- English
- Official identifier
- Laws of Minnesota 2026, Chapter 72 (H.F. 1606); Minn. Stat. 325E.91
Summary
Bars whoever owns or controls a website, application, software, program or other service from letting users access, download or use it to 'nudify' an image or video, that is, to alter or generate it so that it realistically shows intimate parts of an identifiable person not shown in the original, or from nudifying images for users; advertising or promoting such services is banned. Services that need a user's own substantial technical or artistic skill are exempt. Depicted individuals may sue for up to three times actual damages, punitive damages and injunctive relief, and the Attorney General may seek civil penalties of up to USD 500,000 for each unlawful access, download or use.
Safety topics
deepfakes & synthetic mediaprohibited practicesaccountability & liability
Scope
Borderline scope The statute regulates services that alter or generate realistic intimate images of identifiable people and does not name artificial intelligence; included as Minnesota's operative instrument against deepfake 'nudification' tools.
Open question
the checker found something possibly newer: Eighth Circuit order of 2 Oct 2026 pausing enforcement pending xAI's appeal (news reports only; no order stored); AG release of 4 Sep 2026 on ag.state.mn.us not stored Issue #152
The record shows its last checked values until a maintainer decides; the decision is recorded in its history.
Status notes
Passed the House 132-1 (23 Apr 2026) and the Senate 65-0 (29 Apr 2026); presented to the Governor on 6 May 2026 and signed on 7 May 2026; effective 1 Aug 2026 for causes of action accruing on or after that date. Civil penalties go to the general fund, and each year's balance is appropriated to the Office of Justice Programs for grants to organisations serving victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse and other crime. The section does not alter the liabilities and protections of 47 U.S.C. § 230. xAI challenges the law in federal court as a restriction of constitutionally protected free speech; US District Judge Donovan Frank refused to block it in September 2026, finding no showing of irreparable harm and undue delay, but on 2 Oct 2026 the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit granted xAI an injunction that puts the law on hold while the lawsuit proceeds.
Local copy
Archived. Last attempt 2026-10-18 00:09:13 UTC
Official source (third-party copy, not published) archive/US-MN-01/2026-10-12/official.html
Retrieved 2026-10-12 04:49:09 UTC
SHA-256 76ee2b32930b1a82cf81f94e97a72e62004b34a90b87d71943bdf35c4c4777bb
Linked document (PDF) (third-party copy, not published) archive/US-MN-01/2026-10-12/document-1.pdf
Retrieved 2026-10-12 04:49:12 UTC
SHA-256 067ea5e2238212ef2e28f1f129228950b5d78c1521e0fc16a041bde1ab7ecdfd
Linked document (PDF) (third-party copy, not published) archive/US-MN-01/2026-10-12/document-2.pdf
Retrieved 2026-10-12 04:49:16 UTC
SHA-256 32d331563ea48581a866cfeb5ced65ae4c79f72f60a6f48bdf99182d3cb28ed5
Secondary source (third-party copy, not published) archive/US-MN-01/2026-10-12/secondary.html
Retrieved 2026-10-12 04:49:17 UTC
SHA-256 88a11dd70533c8e18ba59bfca4133561ebd4807453b881422789657f2b9719e3
Verification
AThe instrument's own official text, or an official register, was stored and confirms the title, date and status. checked 2026-10-18 · official-url-fetched
Recheck of 18 Oct 2026: re-read the Revisor of Statutes' session-law page and PDF for Laws 2026, chapter 72, and the HF 1606 bill-status page, all stored 12 Oct 2026 from revisor.mn.gov (the archiver found them unchanged on 17 Oct 2026). They confirm the title, section 325E.91, the definitions, prohibitions, exemption, remedies and penalties, the votes, the Governor's signature on 7 May 2026 and the 1 Aug 2026 effective date. The stored files do not name the Governor, so the issuing body no longer does. The litigation in notes rests on one secondary source, a Reuters report published by MPR News on 2 Oct 2026 and stored in this run; the Minnesota Attorney General's release of 4 Sep 2026 on ag.state.mn.us could not be stored (connection timed out), and no court order is stored. A committee schedule grid stored with the record (house.mn.gov) does not concern HF 1606.
Second check: Independent check by Claude Code (claude-sonnet-5-5), 2026-10-18: 6 field(s) supported.
History
- 2026-10-18scope_note: – → The statute regulates services that alter or generate realistic intimate images — added: the statute never names artificial intelligence, so it is in scope as a law that is not AI-specific but is the operative instrument for an AI-safety question (deepfakes), which AGENTS.md section 10 includes with a scope_note2026-10-18-recheck-americas-1 · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)
- 2026-10-18notes: Passed the House 132-1 (23 Apr 2026) and the Senate 65-0 (29 Apr 2026); signed 7 → Passed the House 132-1 (23 Apr 2026) and the Senate 65-0 (29 Apr 2026); presente — the xAI sentence ('Press reports describe ...; its outcome was not verified') replaced by the course of the litigation from the stored MPR News report: the district court's refusal in September 2026 and the Eighth Circuit's injunction of 2 Oct 2026; presentment date, use of civil penalties and the 47 U.S.C. § 230 clause added2026-10-18-recheck-americas-1 · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)
- 2026-10-18summary: Prohibits anyone who owns or controls a website, application, software or other → Bars whoever owns or controls a website, application, software, program or other — the closing sentence ('targets providers of AI image-generation tools rather than individual users') is removed: the statute does not mention artificial intelligence; the definition of 'nudify' is spelled out instead2026-10-18-recheck-americas-1 · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)
- 2026-10-18issuing_body: Minnesota Legislature (94th Legislature, 2026 session; chief author Rep. J. Hans → Minnesota Legislature (94th Legislature, 2026 session; chief author Rep. J. Hans — the stored files do not name the Governor; 'signed by Governor Tim Walz' becomes 'signed by the Governor'2026-10-18-recheck-americas-1 · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)
Citation
Minnesota Legislature (94th Legislature, 2026 session; chief author Rep. J. Hanson); signed by the Governor. Laws of Minnesota 2026, Chapter 72 (H.F. 1606): prohibition on nudification technology (Minn. Stat. 325E.91) [Laws of Minnesota 2026, Chapter 72 (H.F. 1606); Minn. Stat. 325E.91]. 2026-05-07. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/laws/2026/0/Session+Law/Chapter/72/. Status: In force; verified 2026-10-18 (level A). Local copy archive/US-MN-01/2026-10-12/official.html retrieved 2026-10-12 04:49:09 UTC, SHA-256 76ee2b32930b1a82cf81f94e97a72e62004b34a90b87d71943bdf35c4c4777bb. Every AI Policy Ever, version 1.18 (snapshot 2026-10-18), record US-MN-01.
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