SAVE statement on Federal Appeals Court order halting enforcement of Minnesota’s AI nudification ban

Suicide Awareness Voices of Education, a leading advocate for Minnesota’s social media warning label law, released the following statement from CEO Erich Mische regarding a federal appeals court order temporarily halting enforcement of Minnesota’s AI nudification ban:

“Minnesota’s first-in-the-nation nudification ban protects people, especially children, by prohibiting companies from providing technology that turns real people’s photos into fake nude or sexual images. It passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, with just one opposing vote. Yet Elon Musk’s xAI went to court to block it, and on October 2, a federal appeals court temporarily halted enforcement. The images may be fake. The harm is real. Having your likeness sexually exploited without your consent can cause devastating humiliation, distress, and trauma. For SAVE, the potential for that harm to contribute to suicidal ideation and suicide makes this a suicide prevention issue.

“Elon Musk has enormous resources to make his products safer. Instead, his company is using its resources to fight a law designed to protect people from sexual exploitation. That choice speaks volumes about whose interests come first. This is another reason we cannot rely on AI and Big Tech companies to voluntarily police themselves or their products. Promises of safeguards are no substitute for enforceable laws, independent oversight, and meaningful consequences when people are harmed.

“SAVE strongly supports Minnesota’s nudification ban and stands with the advocates and lawmakers defending it. We also remain committed to Minnesota’s social media warning label law, which alerts users to potential mental health risks and connects them to resources, including the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Its enforcement has been delayed amid a lawsuit by the technology trade group NetChoice.”

“Protecting children and preventing suicide cannot depend on the goodwill of companies fighting the very laws intended to hold them accountable. Their profits do not come before people’s lives.”

About SAVE

SAVE – Suicide Awareness Voices of Education is a Minnesota-based national suicide prevention nonprofit. Founded in 1989, SAVE was among the first organizations in the nation dedicated to preventing suicide. Through education and training, advocacy, lethal means safety and support for suicide loss survivors, SAVE turns awareness into action and action into hope. Learn more at save.org.