Minnesota Senate Passes HF 1606 65-0, Sending Civil Ban on AI 'Nudification' Apps to Gov. Tim Walz
Minnesota's HF 1606 cleared the state Senate 65-0 after a 132-1 House vote, sending an AI 'nudification' app ban to Gov. Tim Walz with $500,000 civil penalties and a private right of action.
Overview
The Minnesota Senate has passed House File 1606, a bill that bars websites and apps from offering AI tools that generate realistic fake nude images of identifiable people without their consent. The Senate cleared the bill 65-0 on Thursday and sent it to Gov. Tim Walz for signature, Decrypt reported. The state House had already approved the same measure 132-1 on April 23, CBS Minnesota’s WCCO Staff reported.
What HF 1606 Does
HF 1606, authored by Rep. Jess Hanson, prohibits accessing, downloading, or using websites, apps, or software that fabricate nude photos or pornographic videos from a person’s image. It also bans advertising or promoting such services, Decrypt summarized.
Enforcement runs through civil channels. The Minnesota attorney general can seek penalties of up to $500,000 per use of nudification technology, with collected fines directed into the state’s general fund and then appropriated to victim services, including support for survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse, according to Decrypt’s reading of the bill text.
Victims also gain a private right of action. People depicted in AI-generated nude images can sue the operators of nudification tools, seek damages “including for mental anguish,” and courts can award up to three times the actual damages, along with punitive damages, attorney fees, and orders to stop the conduct, Decrypt wrote.
The legislation carves out a narrow exemption. According to the House, the bill prohibits use of nudification technology “except when the website, app, or software requires the substantial application of technological or artistic skill by a human creator directing and controlling the output,” CBS Minnesota reported — language designed to shield general-purpose photo editors from liability while targeting one-click nudifier services. If signed, the law would take effect August 1, 2026.
What Hanson Said on the House Floor
The House passed HF 1606 on Thursday, April 23, by a vote of 132-1. “No one should have to worry that nude images of themselves can be generated by AI, without their permission, at the push of a button,” Hanson said in a statement following the vote. “This bill would not have been possible without the brave victims who told their heartbreaking stories about this exploitative AI feature.”
Minnesota lawmakers had previously made it illegal to create and distribute AI-generated sexually explicit material of an individual and to use deepfakes to influence the outcome of an election, CBS Minnesota noted. HF 1606 extends Minnesota’s enforcement reach upstream from distribution to the operators that supply the imagery in the first place.
Federal Backdrop
The Minnesota measure arrives against a tense federal backdrop. The Trump administration last year announced plans to challenge state-level AI laws, CBS Minnesota reported, and last month outlined a “comprehensive national legislative framework” for regulating AI technology — a posture that could put statutes like Minnesota’s at risk of preemption.
At the federal level, the Take It Down Act, signed by President Trump in May 2025, already criminalizes the nonconsensual distribution of intimate imagery, including AI-generated deepfakes, Decrypt reported. HF 1606 differs in scope: it targets the supply side, holding operators of nudification services civilly liable rather than focusing on downstream sharing.
Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, told Decrypt that the apps in question are “99% targeting women, over 90% of whom are under 18.” The same report cites recent litigation tied to the underlying technology, including a federal class action filed by Tennessee minors alleging that xAI’s Grok generated child sexual abuse material, and a Baltimore consumer-protection action against X and xAI over nonconsensual sexualized content.
What We Don’t Know
- When Gov. Walz will sign. As of the most recent reporting, the bill has cleared both chambers but has not yet been signed.
- How effective civil-only enforcement will be. HF 1606 creates liability for operators but does not establish a new criminal offense, raising open questions about its reach against overseas providers.
- Whether the law will survive federal challenge. With the Trump administration signaling opposition to state-level AI rules, HF 1606 could face preemption arguments before its August 1 effective date arrives.