ST. PAUL, Minn. — On Thursday, May 7, Governor Tim Walz signed into law Senator Erin Maye Quade’s (DFL-Apple Valley) ban on consumer access to AI nudification technology. The bill, which passed both the House and Senate with bipartisan support, requires that companies turn off consumer access to AI nudification technology in order to protect Minnesotans from image-based sexual abuse. The law will take effect Aug. 1, 2026.
Senator Maye Quade brought the bill forward in 2025 after being approached by a group of women who had been victimized by a man who used their photos from social media and personal photo albums to create hyperrealistic, nonconsensual AI sexual imagery of more than 80 women in his life.
“Today is a victory for every Minnesotans’ privacy and peace of mind,” said Senator Maye Quade. “Women, children and everyone in public life will be safer without predators having easy access to AI nudification technology. Companies that make this technology available for free online and in app stores will no longer be allowed to enable predators who abuse and victimize adults and children with the click of a button.
“I am grateful beyond words to the victim-survivors who made this bill a reality. Their courage, dignity and perseverance are why Minnesotans will be protected from this harmful technology. Their work means that what happened to them will not happen to any Minnesotan, ever again. Thank you, Governor Walz, for your action today.”
###
Learn more about Sen. Maye Quade.
